


Of Rocks and Robots

by bethhigdon



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014), Big Hero 6: The Series (Cartoon), Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Crossover
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:02:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 34
Words: 140,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23068177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bethhigdon/pseuds/bethhigdon
Summary: While trying to free his dad, Varian gets sucked into another world. Can his new found friends help him to move on from his traumatic past or will he be forever haunted by his mistakes?(This Story is Rated PG; It's just Ao3 doesn't have a PG setting)
Comments: 690
Kudos: 494





	1. The Arrival

“Soon, Dad.”

The hoarse, raspy voice broke the eerie silence that permeated the dark chamber, and Varian startled to hear himself speak. It was the first time he had spoken out loud in days and his own voice sounded weird and unnatural to him, caked with emotion. 

The young boy glanced around the ruins of where he stood, shivering from more than just the morning chill as his eyes swept past broken timbers, rubble, and cobwebs. He could see through a hole in one wall out to the abandoned farmland and deserted huts that made up the village he had once called home, and no matter where he turned black pointy rocks of all sizes punctured the ground. A grim reminder of what had lead to such desolation. 

Finally his gaze settled back to the object that he had first spoken to. A towering stalagmite made from amber stood before him. Enclosed within the golden resin was the figure of a man; standing tall, right arm reaching upwards, clasping what looked to be a note, and his face frozen; eyes closed in ,what Varian thought was, pain. He stretched out his own hand to touch that face, but as so many times before, it only came to rest on the cold, unyielding, translucent stone. 

Varian blinked back tears as he gazed up at his father, memories flooding his mind. Painful memories; the day of the accident, fighting his way through a snowstorm, the castle door slamming in his face, the endless weeks of isolation and failed experiments, the rage he felt while battling both his inner demons and the uncaring kingdom that abandoned him, the cold emptiness while lying on the dungeon floor, and most recently, the prison break that brought him back to where he began. 

For upon acquiring his freedom, and being appointed the new Royal Adviser by the leader of the Saporians, the architects of his escape, Varian hit upon the idea of raiding the castle’s innermost vault. The precious treasure that it once held was no longer there, having been stolen by Varian himself, but the room still stored vast amounts of books and scrolls containing knowledge of sages past. Most importantly the notes of the famed alchemist Demanitus. 

Varian had studied Demantius work before, reverse engineering the ancient scientist’s deadly and near indestructible automatons for his own nefarious purposes. Those proved to be less than sufficient in the end and he hoped his newest discovery would be more successful. 

His reminiscing was broken by a second sound, a small chittering noise coming from his work desk in the corner of the room. Distracted, he looked towards the creature that made it. Sitting back on his hind-legs on top of the desk was a rotund raccoon who looked expectantly at him. Varian gave his pet a warm but weary smile.

“Hello, Ruddiger.” he said softly, his voice still sounding rough to his ears due to its lack of use. He walked over the tamed raccoon and gave it an affectionate scratch behind the ears who nuzzled his hand in response. He then turned his attention to the assemblage of wires, gears, and levers that he had cobbled together over the last three days. 

The machine stood on a tripod of metal legs next to the desk and vaguely looked like a drill. Only the “drill” part was a smooth metal cone with a glass orb attached to the tip and two antenna stuck out from either end at the back. Its intended use was to originally create portals to other worlds, according to the blueprints he had found amongst the old alchemist’s writings. Varian hoped that with his added adjustments he could configure the portal into a short range teleportation device. The amber that held his father was unbreakable. No amount of force could shatter the structure, but a portal could theoretically bypass the resin and allow his father out. 

Varian took a steadying breath and tried to push out any expectations he held in his mind. He’d known the sting of disappointment far too many times to get his hopes up now. All he could do was try and see what would happen. 

He gathered up his notebook, stuffed Demanitus’s papers and blueprints in between its pages, and having tied the cord around to hold it altogether, placed the journal inside his inner coat pocket. So should anything go wrong, like say a fire from an explosion, then the notes would already be on his person and kept safe so long that he was. He also scooped up his loyal companion and placed the raccoon upon his shoulders for similar reasons. 

“Ready, Ruddiger?” he asked his pet, “‘Cause here we go.” He walked behind the machine, twisted some dials, and with the pull of a lever turned the device on. 

* * *

“Nothing can stop me now! Bwahahaha!” 

Maniacal laughter emitted from the small man standing on top of the building. He was short in stature with light pink hair and was wearing a tacky purple suit. In his hand he held a simple remote and beside him stood a large metal ring held up by a framework of support beams attached to a steel platform. 

A young Hiro Hamada stared at the machine transfixed; unpleasant memories flashing through his mind; the heat of the fire, his brother’s funeral, the lonely days spent in the room they once shared, the blinding hate he felt when facing the masked attacker that murdered his brother, and the cold emptiness of the void enveloping him as he entered a machine not dissimilar from the one standing before him now. 

He was snapped out of his reprieve by a voice coming through the intercom in his helmet. 

“How did Mr. Sparkles get ahold of Keri’s portal tech?I thought it was all destroyed.” Hiro’s friend Wasabi asked.

“It must be an old prototype; one that was abandoned in favor of the actual portals we faced later on.” Hiro replied back through the intercom to the rest of his friends.

After his brother‘s, Tadashi’s, death, Hiro and his friends had formed a superhero team to stop his murderer, using technology that they developed along with a robot Tadashi had built himself called Baymax. Even after having defeated the villain called Yokai, and his dangerous portals, they continued on thwarting other evil schemes pursued by other bad guys. One such villain, the aforementioned Mr. Sparkles, had apparently stolen the older tech and had set up shop with it in the middle of downtown San Fansokyo. Though to what ends was anybody’s guess. 

“And if it was abandoned,” Hiro continued on,”then it’s probably even less stable than those were, so we have to make sure he doesn’t turn it on. Otherwise there’s no telling what it may do.” 

He signaled for the team to move in and surround the villain but it was too late. With a gleam in his eye Mr. Sparkles pressed the button on the remote and the portal roared to life. 

* * *

Varian was having difficulty holding onto the machine. The portal that had appeared before him hung in the air sucking everything into it. Like a flaming circle, it shifted and writhed with green energy licking the sides and a crackling static could barely be heard over the wind whipping past his ears. 

“Hold on, Ruggider!” He yelled to the raccoon perched upon his shoulders. But no sooner did the words leave his mouth did the wind pickup speed and Varian found himself lifted from the ground and hurling towards the portal itself. 

* * *

Something was clearly wrong. The portal that Mr. Sparkles had switched on was bathed in a glowing green energy, that eerily looked like lightning, and a staticky sound could be heard coming from it. 

“Look out it’s going to blow!” Yelled Fred, and “blow” it did. An explosion erupted from the machine knocking everyone back and sending rubble and debri down to the street below. 

Everyone lay prone on the ground surrounded by twisted metal, concrete, and smoke. A large chunk of the roof of the building over head was blown away and nothing remained of the portal except for scrap. 

Hiro recovered from the blast, hoisting himself up on his elbows and scanned the destruction around him. He couldn’t see any sign of Mr. Sparkles but he did see his various friends also slowly sitting up. 

“Everyone OK? Sound off.” Hiro asked. 

“I’m Ok.” that was Gogo.

“I’m alright too” said Honey Lemon.

“Same here” replied Wasabi.

“I am also undamaged” came Baymax’s voice from behind him.

“That’s good… wait where’s Fred?” 

As if in response to this query Hiro heard a scream come from across the way and Fred came running towards them. 

“It’s an alien!” He yelled. He rushed over to grab Wasabi and began to excitingly describe the creature that he had seen. “Bugged eyed, dripping fangs, red claws, and it was missing a nose I think.”

“Fred, there is no such things as aliens.” Wasabi told him exasperatedly. 

“Not unless it came through an inter-dimensional portal.” Fred retorted,”Gasp! There it is!” 

Through the smoke they could make out the shape of something. It looked humanoid, bipedal, and with comically large eyes if the silhouette was to be believed. Fred broke away from the rest of the group and slowly walked to meet the thing. 

“We. Mean. You. No. Harm. We. Come. In. Peace.” He paused and held his hands up and out to signify he didn’t want to fight. “Do. You. Speak. English?” 

“I speak a lot of languages” Was the annoyed reply. 

The wind blew the smoke away getting a clear view of the “creature”. It was no alien but in fact a person. The bug eyes being a pair goggles, the red claws merely gloves, and the dripping fangs nothing more than a quirky design on a bandanna that obscured their face. 

The person stepped forward and removed the bandanna and goggles revealing a boy underneath. He couldn’t have been much older then Hiro himself. He had thick black hair, with a blue streak in his bangs and large piercing blue eyes to match. He was dressed oddly. In addition to the goggles and bandanna, he wore a pair of baggy pants, a waistcoat, and a frock coat over that. His gloves had dials on the wrists and his boots had buttons rather than shoelaces. Around his waist was strapped various belts and from them hung multi-colored orbs that didn’t look dissimilar to Honey Lemon’s chimballs. He was covered in dust and dirt from the explosion and a black sooty smear streaked across the bottom half of his face. 

The boy squinted his eyes in distrust and moved to unclip one of the balls hanging from his belt. He held it out in front of him and readjusted his stance to a defensive one. 

“Where am I and who are you?” He asked. There was an edge to his voice and his eyes darted back and forth between the group and the cityscape behind them. It was clear he was lost and scared and putting up a brave front to try and hide it. 

Hiro stepped forward to try and deescalate the situation, but no sooner did he move then sirens were heard in the distance. Cop cars came barreling down the road towards them, lights flashing. They quickly pulled to a stop in front of the heroes. The boy, startled by this new development, turned to face the noise. He threw the ball in his hand to the ground and from it poured a purple fog of smoke. 

Using the fog as a cover Hiro signaled to his team to disperse. He hopped onto Baymax’s back and the robot turned on his jet pack. Still floating in the air, the robot then picked up Wasabi while Honey Lemon and Gogo skated away. Hiro nodded to Fred to grab the boy. He saluted his acknowledgement to Hiro and scooped the stranger up in his arms, bounding away before the smoke could clear. 

* * *

Chief Officer Cruz peered out through the purple fog to the debri filled street but no sign of anyone, hero nor villain alike, could be seen. He ordered his men to shine a light onto the scene of the crime and to search the area for the offending miscreants who caused the destruction. All that was found was a single raccoon. It picked up a piece of the debri in its mouth and then scampered away into a back alley. Cruz sighed in frustration and told his officers to pack it up for the night after sectioning off the road. 

* * *

“Oh, now that’s….that’s high up.” Varian gulped as he looked down from the dizzying height at the top of the building where the “monster” had deposited him. He had never considered himself afraid of heights before but the building was as tall as a small mountain and the days events, including the stomach lurching ride to the top, was getting to him. 

“Oh don’t I know it. Just don’t look down. It makes things easier.” A not unkind voice told him. He turned to see who was addressing him and was faced with six armored figures standing before him. They were various heights and builds and each wore a set of armor that was uniquely modeled and highlighted with its own different color. One such suit was even crafted to look like a three eyed monster and Varian recognized it as the creature that he had first met; the one that had carted him away to way up here when the strange vehicles with flashing lights had arrived. They vaguely reminded Varian of the knights from storybooks he use to read as a kid. All decked out in shining metal and off to battle dragons and rescue damsels in distress. But life wasn’t like a storybook and Varian didn’t trust easily. 

“Who are you?” He asked suspiciously.

The one dressed as a monster stood tall, flexed his arms, and proudly proclaimed “We’re Big Hero Six!” 

He then paused for dramatic effect, clearly waiting for Varian to respond with either praise or recognition. But Varian could only stare blankly at him, confused as ever. Most of the other knights shook their heads in exasperation, and after a moment or two of awkward silence, the smallest knight stepped forward, patted the “monster” on the back encouragingly, and then removed his helmet. It was a small boy not much younger then Varian himself. He had a shock of messy black hair and large almond brown eyes. He smiled kindly at Varian and then introduced himself. 

“I’m Hiro and these are my friends” He turned to gesture at each knight as he rattled off their names. “This is Baymax” 

“Hello” The tallest and largest of the knights said in a lilted voice.He brought his hand up and proceeded to stiffly move it in a small circular motion. Varian repeated the wave, assuming it was a customary form of greeting.

“Gogo” 

Gogo, as she was called, responded by chewing on some pink candy, that looked to be like taffy, blew it into a bubble form, popped the bubble with her mouth before saying, “Hi”, and then proceeded to chew on the confectionery once more. She was the second shortest of the knights and stood on large yellow disks while having two more of those same disks attached to her wrists. 

“You’ve met Fred”

Fred was the aforementioned monster suited knight. He flipped back the helmet of his armor revealing a blonde haired young man probably only a year or two older then Varian himself. “Hey!” he enthusiastically said before returning the helmet back to its proper position. 

“This is Honey Lemon” 

Honey Lemon was a tall woman dressed in pink armor and she carried a pink purse that had attached to its strap small multi-colored balls that reminded Varian of the alchemy balls he wore currently around his own waist. She was all smiles and had long red hair that peaked out from underneath her pink helmet and visor. 

“Please to meet you” she said in a light and airy voice.

“And Wasabi” 

“How ya doing?” asked last of the knights and Varian recognized his voice as the one that had given him the advice about not looking down. He was decked out in green armor and had broad shoulders. While not as large as the knight called Baymax, who was like a small giant, Wasabi was clearly a tall buff guy who looked to be able to hold his own in a brawl. 

Varian just stood for a few moments looking at the band of warriors, processing everything. They in turn stared expectantly at him and that is when he remembered his manners. 

“I’m Varian.” He said and with introductions seemingly out of the way continued on with his line of questioning. “So where am I?”

“You’re in San Fransokyo” The smallest knight said, Hiro, wasn’t it?

“Where’s that?” 

The younger boy seemed to be surprised by that question. “In .. America?” he hesitantly offered up. 

“The Americas!?” Varian exploded back. “No! noooo, no ,no, no, no. I overshot! How am I supposed to get back to my dad now?” He began to pace back and forth agitated. Unbeknownst to him, as he ranted, the knights shared a couple of confused looks among themselves. 

“Overshot?” asked the green knight.

“Yes, I was working on a short range teleportation device when it must have malfunctioned and deposited me here on the other side of the ocean.” Varian explained irritated.

“Well, maybe we can help?” Hiro continued, “Where are you from?” 

“Corona” 

More confused stares. 

“And where’s that?” 

“Europe” Varian said less assuredly. 

“I have researched my databases for, Corona, and have not found any matches” the tallest knight said. His voice was clipped and unnatural sounding to Varian’s ears and he was growing ever increasingly more uneasy with the weird situation he found himself in.

The boy, Hiro, cradled his chin in thought for a moment and then responded. 

“I think you may be a little farther from home then just across the ocean.” He said slowly, carefully, trying not to upset the alchemist. “I think you may have crossed a dimensional barrier.” 

Varian turned away from them upon hearing this and looked out across the cityscape displayed before him as the enormity of what the other boy said begin to weigh upon Varian’s mind. As far as the eye could see there were tall spires and metal towers, all taller than the tallest castle rooftop and flashing with a multitude of lights. Large decorative balloons that looked like giant lanterns hung in place over the rooftops and off in the distance there looked to be large bridge, also lit up against the starless night sky. Strange sounds filtered up from the streets below and into Varian’s ears reminding him just how far from home he was. 

“What am I going to do?” He heart-brokenly whispered. Varian had known despair before, but looking out upon that sea of metal and glass he had never felt more lost and defeated. 

“Well,” the young knight continued,“we were stopping a thief from getting away with a prototype portal device. He turned it on and it must have connected with your teleportation device, bringing you here. Unfortunately it overloaded, there’s nothing left. But if you’re capable of rebuilding your first device, then we might could get you the supplies to do so, and I could talk to the owner of the original portal to see if he has any plans or blueprints left that you could work off of.” 

Varian thought this plan over and against his better judgment began to have a sliver of hope again. He still had Demantius’s plans and his own personal notes tucked away inside his breast pocket and this world seemed to be highly advanced. Surely there was something, some technological wonder, that might help. At the very least it couldn’t hurt to try.

“Alright” Varian agreed.

“Great! Now the best way to get you some supplies would be from our school, SFIT, but Professor Granville won’t be back from spring break until Monday. So we gotta find a place for you to stay until then.”

“What about our headquarters?”

“Naw, Roddy is redoing the plumbing remember? It won’t be ready for a week. Which means no cool superhero hangout for a whole week!”

“Well don’t look at us. Honey Lemon and I are cramped up in our studio apartment as is.” 

“Well I can’t take him home. What would Aunt Cass say if she caught me sneaking a stranger into the house at two in the morning? Wasabi, didn’t your roommate graduate this semester?”

“Yeah, and he took his bed with him when he moved out of the dorm. What about you Mr. I-live-in-a-literal-mansion?” 

“I told you, my parents require a three year background check for overnight guests. He’s from another world. He has no records.” 

Varian listened in on this exchange, lost as to what everyone talking about. Headquarters, schools, mansions, roommates; he had no frame of reference for anything all he knew was that they were struggling to find him a place to stay. 

“It’s ok. I can sleep outside,” Varian interjected helpfully, not wanting to be a burden and not wanting to cause any arguments. 

“What? No!” They all said at once, horrified, their debate coming to an abrupt end. Varian was taken aback by the ferocity with which they had turned his idea down and began to wonder what he could have possibly said that so offended them. 

“Dude, we’re not letting you sleep outside!” the green knight, Wasabi said, aghast that he would ever suggest such a thing. Varian just stared blankly at him, confused as to why that seemed so awful. Wasabi sighed in exasperation and then took a deep breath as if coming to a decision and then continued. “Look you are more than welcome to stay the night at my place, as long as you don’t mind sleeping on the sofa that is.” 

Varian didn’t mind at all. In fact a sofa sounded quite comfortable compared to the cold hard ground or the wooden cot of the jail cell that he had been used to for the past year or so. Though he left this last part unsaid. 

“Great, so now that’s settled …,” the boy Hiro started to walk up to the tall knight called Baymax. He hopped up on the others back and the two wings on the side of his amour ignited with flame and propelled both of them upwards. “We can meet up for breakfast at the Lucky Cat tomorrow and in the meantime I’ll gather up everything I can on the portals.” 

“Whoa!” Varian stared up at the flying armored figures in breathless awe as they soared away. His attention was diverted when the pink knight, Honey Lemon, walked forward. She pressed some buttons on the side of her purse and out popped a purple ball into the palm of her hand. It looked just like the one Varian had held earlier, only he assumed it did something different. She stopped beside him next to the edge of the rooftop, turned to give him a big smile, and then threw the ball down to the ground below. From the ball sprung a crystallized substance that created what looked like a blue slide from the top of rooftop to the ground below. 

“Acetic acid?” Varian questioned, happy to show off his knowledge. Honey Lemon nodded enthusiastically as a way of an answer and then jumped on to the slide and surfed down to the ground, whooping loudly with joy as she went. The yellow knight, Gogo, followed after her and the monster suited knight, Fred, began to bound away, leaping across the buildings in large jumps. 

Varian moved to the slide himself and hopped on the same as the other two girls had done. He turned around when he noticed that the green knight, Wasabi, was still standing around. He looked questioningly at him, wondering what fantastical way he may depart. 

“I’ll take the elevator, thanks.” Wasabi replied. 

Varian didn’t know what an elevator was, but he didn’t want to pursue the question and be made to look the fool, so he just shrugged his shoulders and then taking a steadying breath slid down the slide himself, also whooping in nervous exhilaration as he went. 

* * *

From another rooftop across the way, Mr. Sparkles, sat watching the heroes depart. He had his hands around his eyes in mock binoculars in order to focus his attention on the newcomer that had joined them. As the boy slid down the makeshift slide and out of sight, the villain removed his hands from his face and pulled out a cell phone from his pocket. He quickly dialed a number and waited for the person on the other end to pick up. 

“Hey boss, bad news about the portal you had me swipe, but before you get mad, there’s been some, shall we say, new developments that I think you might be interested in.” He chuckled in his throat after saying this. The stranger that had just arrived was going to change the game and it was bound to be an entertaining show if nothing else.


	2. The First Night

Varian landed ungracefully on the ground. He looked up to see if any of the knights had seen him fly off the slide, but none were around. He picked himself up and inspected his surroundings. He stood in an alleyway between two tall towers; the crystal slide he had just slid down attached to the side of one of them. A few moments passed and he nervously began to shift his weight from foot to foot as he waited for someone to appear. Just when he had started to think that the people he had met had abandoned him, he saw the green knight, Wasabi, exit out the front of the building. He turned to find Varian and upon seeing him he smiled and wave. Varian returned the smile and jogged over to where he stood. **  
**

“Have fun?” The tall man queried. Varian nodded a reply, out of breath from both the ride down and from running. The man just smiled back at him and then motioned for Varian to follow. He led them to another alley a short ways away. In it was parked a strange metal vehicle on wheels. It looked similar to the ones the men in blue had rode in, only smaller, with no flashing lights on top, and was painted green.

“Wow!” Varian exclaimed as he ran to inspect the new machine. “What is it?” 

“Uh…A car.” Wasabi replied as if it was the most obvious answer in the world, but Varian was too excited to notice that he was coming across as weird to the stranger. 

“How does it work?” He eagerly asked. 

“Umm..Well it runs on a combustible engine. Do..do you not have cars in your world?” 

“No.” Varian replied glibly. “Everyone just either walks or rides a horse.” 

“Oh, wow, uh..no one’s ridden a horse around here for over a hundred years.” He said with an awkward laugh. He then cleared his throat and asked Varian if he wanted to go for a ride in the fantastic invention.

“Would I ever!?” Varian gleefully exclaimed and with that grabbed the handle of the door, flung it open, and hopped inside. Varian looked in wonder at the dashboard, at all the knobs and dials, and tried to mentally guess what each may do. Wasabi entered from the other side and sat in front of a wheel that Varian guessed was for steering.

“Now the first thing one must always remember to do when riding in a car,” .” Wasabi instructed with a serious air”,is to strap in one’s seat belt.” With that he grabbed the aforementioned “seat belt” and pulled it over his shoulder buckling it into the metal buckle on the opposite side. Varian dutifully mimicked his action and once completed looked up at the larger man and shyly smiled; looking for acknowledgment that he did it right. The knight smiled back at him approvingly. He then took a small key from his side pocket, placed it in a keyhole next to the wheel, and gave the key a turn. The car roared to life and Varian couldn’t help but giggle in excitement. 

* * *

Ruddiger hid himself inside an alleyway, tucked up under the open lid of a large box. He peered out at the strange people dressed in blue, wondering what they might do, praying they would just leave already. He didn’t know where he was, but it was loud and unnaturally bright. Worse, his boy, who he had arrived with, had been carried away by a strange creature and five other oddly dressed people. He had to get back to him. But how? Where would he even begin to look? 

Finally the people in blue piled back into their noisy carts and rode away. He waited for several minutes to see if they would return. When they did not, Ruddiger ventured to poke his head out of the alley and look around. He was rewarded with the sight of Varian walking around the corner into another alleyway. He excitedly took off after his owner. Upon reaching the other alley though, he was greeted with the sight of Varian entering a green cart with another human also dressed in green. Ruddiger recognized the human as one of the ones who had dragged his boy away to start with. 

The cart began to move, backing out of the alleyway, and Ruddiger had to scramble out of the way. It then stopped and turned to face the direction of the street. As it began to speed away Ruddiger ran after it, made a flying leap, and landed on the back bumper. He then held on as the it sped down the road. 

* * *

Varian pressed his face to the window of the car. His nose smooshed up against the glass as he tried to get a better look at the tall buildings as they passed by. Wasabi was off to the side steering while also explaining the various rules and regulations about driving the vehicle. Varian only half way listened. Not because he didn’t care, he did. He found the machine fascinating and wanted to know more, but he also found everything else fascinating too. 

Everywhere he looked there was something new to gain his attention. It was honestly a little overwhelming because he couldn’t focus on just one thing. As soon as something grabbed his interest it would slide out of view and another thing would come along and catch his eye. He just sat in silent awe, his head swerving every which way, unable to verbally formulate the millions of questions tumbling through his mind. 

Eventually as they went along the buildings got shorter and shorter and further and further apart. After a time Wasabi turned the car into a smaller side street next to a large building with multiple windows and off in the distance Varian could see other shorter but nevertheless still quite impressive buildings with well manicured lawns. He then pulled the car to a stop along side several other similar vehicles. 

“Well here we are! The San Fransokyo Institute of Technology, also known as SFIT.” Wasabi proudly proclaimed. 

“This is a university?” Varian asked in wonderment. Schools of higher learning were rare and expensive places. One had to go outside of Corona to the larger cities and kingdoms to find them and only the richest of nobles and royals got admitted. Varian always knew that attending such bastions of knowledge was a mere dream for a poor farm boy, though he had always hoped to at least see one someday. And here he was about to spend the night at one! “Can I look around?” 

“Well maybe tomorrow, or the day after, but the school is closed for spring break so not much is going on right now. But in the meantime it’s getting late, so let’s get cleaned up and get some sleep.” With that he stepped out of the car and Varian followed after him. 

They walked into the closest building; the tall one with all the windows. Once inside they then walked up a couple of flights of stairs which lead to a long hallway with doors on either side. Wasabi stopped at the third door on the right which had the number 303 painted on the top. He pulled out another key and unlocked the door and walked inside. Once inside he took off his helmet and flipped a switch next to the door. The room flooded with light revealing a type of living quarters. 

“Welcome to my humble abode. Make yourself at ho–” Wasabi stopped mid sentence as the light above him began to flicker off and on. He turned to see Varian switching the light switch up and down with a look of intense interest on his face.

“Fascinating.” Varian said with awe. “The switch appears to be connected to the light above. What connects them and what powers the light?” 

“Uhh…..wires and electricity?” Wasabi said completely caught off guard by this new line of questioning. 

“Electricity? Like from lightning? How do you harvest lightning?” 

“From a power plant” Wasabi said slowly trying to find the words to explain what was, to him, a part of everyday life. 

“A plant that generates electricity!? Oh, what kind of plant is it? Like a flower? Or a vine? Or-” 

“No, not a living plant.” Wasabi interrupted. “A power plant, like a factory. They use turbines to generate electricity and use copper wires to carry the current to various places. Let me guess, you don’t use electricity in your world either?” 

Varian shook his head, suddenly aware that he was completely out of place in this new world and beginning to feel more than a little awkward. He tried to curb his questions and act nonchalant in order to avoid any more embarrassment; placing his hands behind his back and taking a look around at his new surroundings. 

Wasabi’s dormitory was comprised of two rooms. The first was simultaneously a sleeping quarters and living space. There was a bed and a dresser in one corner of the room and across from it a small table with kitchen supplies. Next to that was a work desk and then next to it, across from the door, a small yellow sofa, at the foot of which there laid a small green rug. There was a window above the small kitchen area with curtains to match. There wasn’t much room, but it was kept clean and neat and was obviously enough for a single occupant or two. The second room was even smaller and covered in white tiles. Upon inspection Varian deduced it was a type of washroom, but the various bits of furniture within were unlike any he had seen before and his curiosity was piqued once more. 

“You can take a shower first if you want.” Wasabi offered. 

The shower that he pointed to was a small tiled basin with a drain and a curtain around it, on the side of the wall was a knob and a metal bit of pipe that hung down. Varian turned the knob experimentally and water began to pour from the pipe into the basin. 

“Woah” Varian breathlessly laughed as he began to turn the knob in different directions to see what different results it would produce. He was met with different increases in the water pressure and flow from the pipe. 

“You gotta turn the faucet all the way to the right for the hot water” Wasabi instructed as Varian fiddled with the shower. Varian promptly followed this advice and the water coming from the pipe started to admit steam indicating that the water was indeed getting hot. 

“You know, I once tried to build a hot water system like this for my village a couple of years ago using steam” Varian began to brag but his pomposity quickly deflated when he had to recount how he was unsuccessful in this attempt, “Sadly it didn’t really work out.”

“You don’t have running water, either?” Wasabi asked with a look of concern on his face. 

“Well, we had a well and the river,” Varian off handily explained, trying to shrug off the larger man’s worry. That’s when the strange seat on the other end of the small room caught his eye. 

“Oh, what’s this?” He exclaimed as he pushed down a small lever on it’s side. He heard a flushing noise and he looked down to see water draining out of the seat portion of the odd chair. He looked back up and immediately knew he had done something wrong when he noted the look of horror on Wasabi’s face. 

* * *

Wasabi scurried about the dorm, dusting and cleaning where he went. The stranger was in the other room taking a shower and Wasabi took this time to organize both his home and his thoughts. Cleaning and organizing was something he enjoyed. It helped him to unclutter his mind and de-stress from the day’s events, and boy what a day this one had turned out to be! 

The arrival of the stranger from another world was already weird enough, but the constant new revelations about said world were starting to unnerve Wasabi. Teaching a grown teenage boy what a toilet was was not something he had ever considered he would have to do in his life. What kind of hellish nightmare world didn’t have indoor plumbing anyways? He shuddered at the thought. 

Soon Wasabi ran out of things to clean. He kept his room so meticulous at all times that there really wasn’t much left to do. He sighed and then decided to turn his attention to the laundry. He changed out of his armor, which was covered in dust and dirt from the explosion, and into some pajamas. He couldn’t just throw said armor into a washing machine, but he could polish it off while the other clothes were washing, so he placed it into the laundry basket anyways. He then picked up the stranger’s clothes that he had left outside of the bathroom door. They were also covered in grime and dirt from the explosion from earlier and so Wasabi had agreed to wash them as well. However he remembered that without running water or electricity there undoubtedly weren’t any washing machines in the stranger’s world either. There was no telling how long he had worn these clothes without cleaning them. Wasabi grimaced and gingerly held the articles of clothing between his forefinger and thumb as he placed them into the basket with the rest of the laundry. 

Before he could head down to the dormitory’s laundry room though he needed to find something else for the boy to wear for the night. So Wasabi went scrounging around his chest of drawers to see if he could find anything that might fit. He eventually pulled out a pair of old jogging shorts. He hoped that the drawstring on them could be tied and tightened enough so they wouldn’t slip off the other boy’s small waist. In addition to this he pulled out one of his old hand knitted sweaters. He had made it back in high school and it was getting to be a little too tight for him but it still would be baggy on the kid. Wasabi shrugged.Oh well it was just to sleep in anyways, the boy’s real clothes would be clean and dry by morning.

Wasabi looked up from what he was doing when he began to hear singing coming from the other room. The kid was taking a while, but Wasabi supposed if it was his first ever shower he would take forever too. That’s when his stomach began to growl. It’d been hours since he’d last eaten and there’s no telling how long it’d been since the stranger had eaten as well. He looked at the clock on his nightstand. Three in the morning; not much left still open except the local pizzeria. Being right next to a collage they were open twenty four seven. 

“Hey! I’m going to order us a pizza, do you like black olives?” Wasabi yelled through the door. 

“Love them!” the boy yelled from the other side. 

With that Wasabi folded the clean clothes and laid them on the sofa and then went to call in the order. He had just finished placing the call, with the man on the other end promising to deliver in five to ten minutes, when he turned around and was greeted by the sight of a raccoon clawing at his window. 

Wasabi screamed. The wild creature had begun to lift up the the bottom panel of the window in order to get in and was squirming his way through. Wasabi rushed over to the window to stop it, tossing his phone on his bed in passing. 

“Oh no you don’t!” Wasabi barked while trying to shove the raccoon back outside. That’s when the stranger came out of the bathroom. 

He stood there dripping for a few moments, towel wrapped around his waist, trying to process what he was seeing. Suddenly recognition swept across his face and his mouth split into a big grin. 

“Ruddiger!” he yelled with joy and then ran up to the window and scooped the raccoon into his arms, bringing him inside and nuzzling his face in the creature’s fur as if it was a pet cat or dog. 

Wasabi looked on in silent horror and confusion. Out of all the odd things the kid had done or said today this was the most baffling and disturbing to Wasabi. 

“Nope! Unh-uh! No way! We don’t allow wild animals inside dormitories around here!” 

“Rudggier’s not wild. He’s tame.” The boy replied with a laugh, still cooing over the masked critter. 

“Rudggier? It has a name?” Wasabi asked in disbelief. “Well does it also have it’s shots?” 

“Shots?” The boy echoed in confusion. 

“Yes. Shots. As in Vaccines.” The boy just stared back at him blankly so Wasabi continued, “You know medicine that’s supposed to prevent you from getting sick?” 

“You have medicine that stops people from ever getting sick?” Varian responded in amazement. 

This sent Wasabi into a fresh new wave of panic. The kid had no concept of modern technology, hygiene, nor medicine, and here he was snuggling with a diseased ridden vermin claiming it as his pet. Wasabi bit his fist and and took deep breaths to try and keep himself from hyperventilating. Once he thought he was calm enough to speak again he continued with his argument. 

“Look pets or any other kind of animal isn’t allowed on school campus so he’s just going to have to go back outside.” 

“No.” The younger boy backed away and clutched the raccoon tightly to his chest in a defensive manner. “If Ruddgier goes then I go too.” 

“Go where!? We’ve already been through this. You can’t sleep outside.” Wasabi was quickly losing what little patience he had left. He couldn’t understand why the kid was being so obstinate.

Varian was also losing his patience. “I do it all the time. It’s no big deal.” He said with an eye roll.

“Why!? Does everyone in your world live like cavemen!?” The boy looked really offended at that comment but Wasabi didn’t give him a chance to retort back. “Look this isn’t up for discussion. Raccoons aren’t pets and they don’t belong inside. End of story. I don’t even know why you’d ever want that thing around anyways?” 

**“Because he’s all that I have left!”** The boy yelled back ferociously. 

Wasabi was taken aback. Not just by the intensity of the boy’s voice but also by the complete change in demeanor. All of the previous wonderment in his eyes was replaced with anger and pain and upon his face was a scowl fiercer than any wild animals. He looked feral and cornered, like he could attack you and/or bolt from the room at a moment’s notice. Then the actual words the boy had said began to sink in; “ _all that I have left._ ”

“Oh man.” Wasabi whispered to himself and hung his head in shame. This poor kid was lost. Nothing in this world was familiar to him and his family was a world away, and what had Wasabi done to actually help? Tell him to send away his pet; the one thing that reminded him of home. He sighed and swept a hand across his face, as if the action would wipe away his anxiety and embarrassment. “Look, I’m sorry.” 

“What?” The boy responded in disbelief. Whatever he had been expecting the older guy to say, an apology wasn’t it. 

Wasabi sighed again and calmly repeated his apology. “I’m sorry. All this time I was thinking about myself and what I was comfortable with, and I didn’t take into consideration your feelings. That was selfish of me and I apologize.” 

The teen just continued to look at him with a mixture of confusion and distrust, so Wasabi pressed forward. “Look perhaps we can come to a compromise.” He slowly suggested, trying to mentally figure out what that compromise might be. However before he could continue on there was a knock at the door. 

* * *

Varian watched as Wasabi talked with the man at the door, only paying half attention to their conversation. His brain was still reeling from the fight that had just occurred. Varian wasn’t used to hearing apologies, not sincere ones anyways. There wasn’t a single person in his life who hadn’t let him down before. They would feign interest in his well being only to abandon him later or go back on their word. Therefore Varian didn’t know what to make of Wasabi. He sounded honest but so had they. Yet, none of them had taken him into their home and offered him help when he needed it either. 

Wasabi finished giving the man at the door some green slips of paper, took from him a flat brown box, and wished the man goodnight. The box must have contained some sort of food as Varian could smell roasted garlic and other spices emitting from it. 

“Now as I was saying,” Wasabi turned to him, “maybe we can work out a compromise. We really can’t just let a raccoon roam free around the apartment complex, but if you don’t want him to sleep outside, then I can make him up bed in the bathroom and he has to _stay_ there for the night.” 

Varian mulled over the proposal. It seemed fair. Ruddiger would be safe and he wouldn’t need much for the night; just a blanket and some food. Varian began to nod his agreement but Wasabi was already continuing on before he could say anything. 

“He can stay, that is, only on three conditions. One, I call the vet in the morning and schedule him a check up and they’ll undoubtedly give him the shots he needs.”

“What’s a vet?”

”An animal doctor. Two, also in the morning we swing by the pet store and buy him a leash, a carrier, and a cage for him to sleep in.” 

“A cage!?” Varian was less agreeable to that last condition. 

“Yes a cage. He can’t be wandering around the halls and he can’t be outside unsupervised. You saw all those cars on the road on the way over here, right?” Varian nodded. “Well there’s even more of them going about during the day and you don’t want him to get run over do you, or get lost in the big city because he snuck out during the night?” 

Varian looked forlornly down at his pet as he held him. No he didn’t want either of those things to happen, and this was a whole new world, no telling what other dangers existed for a raccoon. But he just _knew_ Ruddiger would hate being stuck in a cage. He sure did. Varian nuzzled his face into the raccoon’s fur, unsure what to do.

“Don’t worry.” Wasabi tried to encourage him ”You can let him out whenever you’re here and can take him outside as long as he has the leash on.”

“Ok.” Varian said softly, his face still buried in his pet as he hugged him. 

“Aright, last condition, we can not let any of the Residential Advisers know that we’re keeping a wild animal in the dorms. I can’t afford being kicked out of student housing. So we have to keep him hidden from the higher ups.” Wasabi pointed right at Ruddiger as he said this to emphasize his point. “Got it?”

Varian was surprised. He didn’t realize that Ruddiger could be such a risk to Wasabi. He also wasn’t expecting anyone to go to such trouble just for him and the realization that this man was willing to risk his home just to keep Varian happy was humbling to say the least. 

“Got it” he repeated back, vowing to himself not to let that happen. 

“Great! Now that that’s settled, here’s the pizza if you’re hungry.’ Wasabi sat the box down on the table. “I’ve also laid out some clean clothes for you to sleep in, they’re on the couch, and I’m going to go downstairs and throw the laundry in the washing machine.” With that he picked up a basket full of clothes and walked towards the door. 

“You also have a machine that washes clothes!? Can I see it?” Varian asked, his curiosity piqued once again. 

“Sure, we can go down together when it’s time to put them in the dyer. That gives you some time to eat and change clothes.” Wasabi struggled a bit to open the door as his hands were full, but no sooner did he get it open was he then stopped by Varian’s voice. 

“Hey, Wasabi.” 

“Hmm?” Wasabi turned around and stood in the doorway to look at him. 

Varian was shuffling his feet and looking downwards trying to form the right right words. 

“Thanks. For everything, for helping me, I mean. Not a whole lot of people would go out their way to do that and you didn’t have to, so, ..thank you.” Varian looked up at those last two words, emphasizing how much he truly appreciated all that was being done for him. 

“Naw, don’t mention it. After all, what are friends for?” 

Varian didn’t know the answer to that question. He had never had friends before; not real ones. Not ones that would go through any pains to help you out because helping was just the right thing to do. But apparently this was a rhetorical question, as Wasabi only stood around long enough to give Varian smile and then turned to leave, closing the door behind him. 

Varian stood still for a few moments, looking at the space where the older teen had stood, mulling over what had just happened. But soon enough Ruddiger was getting tired of being held and was struggling to escape his arms, distracting him from his thoughts. He put the raccoon down and then went to change into the clothes Wasabi had given him. 

They were far too big on him. The short britches had a drawstring to tighten them with but even when pulled as tight as they would go they hung loose upon his hips. The jersey was no better. It hung down to his knees and the sleeves went several inches past his wrists, completely covering his hands. But he dealt with ill fitting clothes for most of his life. Usually just re-purposing his father’s old hand-me-downs, re-patching or hemming as needed. So Varian just rolled up the sleeves, deciding to make do; at least these clothes were well maintained and didn’t need any repairing. 

He then turned his attention to the food. He had heard of pizza before, it was apparently popular in Italy according to the sailors and traveling merchants he sometimes talked to. A must have if one were to visit say Naples, not that Varian ever figured he would. He had never traveled further than Vardaros, a city outside of Corona’s walls that his dad would sometimes go to market to. 

The pizza consisted of flat bread covered in olives, onions, and entirely too much cheese that overflowed in stringy pieces when he picked up one of the pre-cut slices. He took an experimental bite. Under the cheese there was a type of red sauce spiced with garlic and other herbs. It wasn’t bad, though not what he had been expecting. He curled up on the sofa, sitting cross legged, and eating the rest of the slice, pulling off pieces of the runny cheese that was falling off to give to Ruddigger. Who grabbed them from his hands and gulped them down eagerly. 

After finishing a slice Varian decided he had had enough. Ruddiger apparently had not and ran up to the table to grab his own slice from the box. Varian watched the gluttonous raccoon with amusement but then soon found himself yawning. He stretched, feeling sleep catching up to him after the day’s events. This though seemed to be a signal to Ruddgier, who immediately dropped the piece of pizza he was eating and sprinted back to the window. 

“Ruddigger?” Varian called out in both confusion and alarm. Worried that his pet would leave so soon after they had just been reunited, he got up from the couch and followed. 

However Ruddiger only went as far as the window sill. He picked up something in his mouth and then turned back around and trotted back to where Varian was standing, proudly holding his head up expecting Varian to take the item from him. 

“Whatcha got there buddy?” Varian asked as Ruddiger deposited a yellow bit of rock into his hand. Like a puppy dog who just fetched a stick and was entirely too proud of itself for completing such a simple task, he sat back and eagerly waited for his master’s approval. 

Varian’s heart skipped a beat. It was a piece of amber, _the_ amber. It was roughly four inches in length that tapered to a sharp point. It’s sides were uneven and craggy but it was entirely flat and smooth on one end, as if it had been cut. But the amber couldn’t be cut, unless….

Varian’s pulse began to race as his mind ran through the possibilities. It must have come through the portal with him, which meant that the portal itself must have cut the piece off when it closed. Which made sense as it wasn’t a physical force that ruptured the surface of the unbreakable rock but an absence of space itself. What this meant for his father and how he could go about implementing this knowledge was invaluable and the first real break though he had since the accident. Now if only he could get back to his lab…

Varian stopped his run away thoughts and looked around at the unfamiliar apartment. But he wasn’t at his lab, or Corona, he was _here_. And he didn’t even know where here actually was, or how to get back, or even if he could get back. 

Varian slumped back onto the sofa, tears filling his eyes. The full enormity of what had happened to him finally sinking in without anything else to distract himself with. He would never admit it to anyone, but he was scared. Scared that he may have lost his dad for good. He couldn’t stop the tears now. Varian couldn’t tell you how many times he had cried since that fateful snowstorm but for awhile he had thought he had no more tears left to shed. Apparently he was wrong, like so many other things in his life. 

He wiped his eyes and laid upon the couch, turning his head away from the door and curling up in a fetal position. He didn’t want Wasabi coming through the door and seeing him awake and distressed. He no longer cared about washing machines and pizza and whatever other wonders this world may hold, he just wanted to sleep and to dream about happier times in his life. Lucky for him the sofa was cushiony and soft, far more comfortable then what he had been sleeping on for the past year or so, and it therefore lulled him to sleep soon enough and he was blessed with the sweet relief of unconsciousness. 


	3. The First Day (part 1)

Wasabi awoke to little tiny hands patting his face. He opened his eyes and saw the raccoon, Ruddiger, perched on top of his chest and staring intensely back at him, snout inches from his face. He yelled and bolted upright at the sight; startling the creature and awaking the sleeping boy on the couch. **  
**

Last night Wasabi had come back from the laundry room and found Varian already asleep curled up on the sofa. The raccoon was digging into the box of pizza on the table. Annoyed that his dinner was now contaminated by raccoon germs he placed the critter and the rest of the pizza inside the bathroom, along with a makeshift bed out of the wet towels that the stranger had used to shower with. Feeling he had fulfilled his promise of making the raccoon comfortable he then securely shut the door to the bathroom, covered the sleeping boy with a blanket, scarfed down a cream cheese bagel, and then went to bed.

It would have appeared that he didn’t close the door tightly enough because at some point during the night the raccoon had managed to open it and escape.

Wasabi groaned in frustration and looked at the clock next to his bed. Nine in the morning; the gang would be meeting soon at the Lucky Cat for breakfast, if they hurried they could be there at around ten thirty or eleven at the latest. 

He threw on a sweater and some pants on top of his sleepwear and went down to retrieve the laundry from last night. Varian asked to come along and see the machines that cleaned the clothes. He was all questions, just like the night before. Wasabi tried to patiently answer them all as he folded the laundry before carrying the now clean clothes back up stairs. 

While the kid went into the bathroom to change back into his old attire; Wasabi looked up a number for a local veterinarian office.

* * *

Varian came out of the washroom to find Wasabi talking into a thin black box that he held to one ear. 

“Are you sure Monday is the earliest you have available?”, he heard the taller man say with a bit of desperation in his voice. Wasabi then paused, as if listening to another voice coming from the box, before continuing on. “Alright then I’ll bring the raccoon by, at around nine, see you then. Thank you and have a nice day.” He then removed the box from his ear and pressed his thumb to its screen, apparently turning it off and ending the conversation. That’s when he noticed Varian. 

“It’s like seventy degrees out today. Are you sure you want to be wearing a heavy coat and gloves?” He asked, taking note of Varian’s full Saporian garb. 

“I find it completes the aesthetic.” Varian said, cupping his chin with his finger and thumb and raising his eyebrow and giving a crooked smile. Desperately trying to come off as suave and smooth as he said it. 

“What aesthetic? Steampunk pirate?” Wasabi responded back with deadpan sarcasm.

“What’s steampunk?” Varian sincerely asked, ignoring the other man’s snark. 

“Nevermind, we’re taking you clothes shopping today anyways.” He said with a shake of his head. 

“Umm, not to sound ungrateful but, why?”

“Because there’s no telling how long you’re going to be here and I’m not washing your dirty clothes every single day.” 

“You don’t need to wash clothes every day.” Varian half laughed while rolling his eyes. 

“Uh-uh! We don’t do that here! You ain’t wearing the same clothes day in and day out without cleaning them. You need at least seven outfits, one for each day of the week, probably even more than that if I’m being honest” Wasabi retorted back in all seriousness. 

“Sounds excessive, but okay.” Varian replied skeptically. He couldn’t understand why anyone would need more than two or three different sets of clothes, some made due with only one set. Only royals and other insanely wealthy individuals had wardrobes that large. But Varian wasn’t going to argue, after all Wasabi had done so much for him already, who was he to complain about receiving new clothes? 

“Before that we gotta make a stop at the pet shop and find that raccoon of yours some new sleeping arrangements. He somehow broke out last night and we can’t have that happening again. After that we’re meeting the rest of the guys at Aunt Cass’s for breakfast.” 

Varian didn’t know who “Aunt Cass” was, but he didn’t ask anymore questions as the thought of a good breakfast started to override is normal curiosity. 

“Come here buddy” Varian gently coaxed his pet. He picked the raccoon up in his arms and followed Wasabi out the door and down the stairs back to the car. 

* * *

If Varian had thought the city was impressive at night it was even more overwhelming during the day. Cars and people were everywhere. San Fansokyo bustled and teemed with life. Never had Varian seen so many crowds of people,so many buildings, nor so many new inventions all at once. Not even in Corona’s capital. 

Wasabi pulled to a stop next to a squat brick building on the side of the street. It had a sign above the top of the building that in big large letters read, “PET TENPO”, and underneath those, in smaller type, were symbols from a language Varian didn’t recognized. 

“Here we are.” Wasabi said cheerfully, he turned the car off and got out. Varian followed suit.

The pet store was a small establishment packed full with shelves stuffed with various merchandise. Towards the front counter there were cages with exotic birds and at the back of the store were large tanks full of colorful fish. Ruddiger took a particular interest in these and tried to escape Varian’s grasp and climb the tanks in order to get at the tasty morsels swimming about. 

“Ruddiger get down!” Varian snatched the raccoon off the top aquarium in embarrassment, before any harm could be done.

Wasabi didn’t notice. He was already gathering up the items they would need; pet bed, cat carrier, a cat leash, one that went around the animal’s waist so as not to choke it, a large dog kennel to sleep in, litter box with litter to go with it, flea powder, and finally both a bag of dog food and a can of cat food; as Wasabi had no idea what to feed the thing. He figured they would just try both and see what would come of it.

“See anything else we might need?” Wasabi asked as they went to the counter to pay for the items.

“Hmmm..” Varian gave a last glance around the store, not entirely sure what he was looking for but he couldn’t help feel like something was missing. Then he spied a large sawed off tree branch next to the caged birds. He placed Ruddgier on the counter and went to pick it up. It was a lot lighter than he expected and hollow but it seemed sturdy. 

Wasabi gave him a curious look. “He likes to climb trees,” Varian explained, “Maybe we can put this up somewhere for him to play on.” 

“Ok.” Wasabi shrugged and added it to the pile of other stuff. Once everything was paid for they carried it back to the car and placed it all into a compartment at the back of the vehicle. All but the leash, that is, which Wasabi handed to him to put on the raccoon. Then they hopped back into the car and were off again. 

* * *

They arrived at the cafe fashionably late.The others no doubt were already in the middle of eating. Wasabi paralleled parked in front of the three story house turned eatery. No sooner did he push the gear into park then did Ruddiger scurry across the dash over to him to look out the driver side window. 

Wasabi turned his head to see what had caught the raccoon’s interest. Sitting on the roof was yet another raccoon. This one with a lighter brown coat. It looked at the newcomers for a bit before turning around and running off. 

_Great more vermin._ Wasabi thought to himself as he rolled his eyes. Out loud though he only said. “Why don’t you take him for a walk before bringing him inside? Let him blow off some energy. Just keep to the sidewalk and don’t go too far.” 

Varian nodded his head in agreement and grabbed the raccoon and pulled him away from the window. Once outside the car he put the pet down and held on to the other end of the leash, allowing the critter to pull him along any way it chose. Wasabi took this as an opportunity to forewarn his friends. 

He found the gang inside all sitting together around a table eating breakfast. 

“Hey, Wasabi. Where’s the new kid, Varian, wasn’t it?” Fred greeted him, waving at him from where he sat as Wasabi made his way over to them.

“Guys you won’t believe the night I’ve had.” He vented.”This kid; he doesn’t know anything about electricity, indoor plumbing, cars, has never had a vaccine….” Wasabi rattled off all the weirdness he had to put up with since the stranger had arrived, visibly counting down the number offensives to good hygiene and common sense he had had to deal with. “ But that’s not the worst part. The worst part is, he has a pet ra–” 

“A raccoon!” Honey Lemon squealed with joy, cutting Wasabi off. He stopped to look at her but she was already out of her chair and bounding away to the front entrance where Varian had just walked in carrying his pet in his arms. 

* * *

“Oh, a raccoon! He’s so adorable. Can I hold him?” The tall girl breathlessly said in wonderous delight while reaching her hand out to pet Ruddiger. It took a moment for Varain to recognize her as the pink suited knight from last night, but her cheery voice gave her away. 

“Sure” Varian agreed and handed his pet to her. She giggled and cradled the raccoon in her arms like a baby, all the while cooing compliments and scratching under his chin and behind his ears. Ruddiger seemed very pleased with the attention and Varian couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight. Few people wanted anything to do with his pet, let alone cuddle him. 

Varian then looked past her to Wasabi and the other knights sitting around the table. Only without their armor they looked less like warriors and more like regular teenagers like himself. All, that is, save for the large white pillowly creature beside them. 

The creature stood as tall as a man and only had two black coal eyes, no nose or visible mouth, and a large bulging body with stubby legs. It was completely white and the impression it gave Varian was that of a snowman come to life. He walked towards the creature transfixed, curious as to what it was. 

“Say hello to Baymax. You met him last night, but he looks a little different out of his armor.” The boy named Hiro said bemusingly. 

“Baymax? The knight? Oh, I’m… I’m sorry I didn’t mean to stare.” Varian stammered out this apology, embarrassed once again that he didn’t understand the inner workings of this world. He knew staring at people was rude and he no doubt just offended the being before him. 

“No need to apologize. I am a robot and therefore can not get offended.” The creature said in his usual clipped voice. It strangely sounded human and yet somehow artificial and emotionless at the same time. Varian found it a little off putting. 

“A robot?”

“It’s artificial intelligence, a machine made to perform human-like tasks.” Hiro explained.

“Ooooh…Like an automaton!” Varian said as realization dawned on him. “I’ve never seen one that can talk before! That’s amazing!” 

“Wait! You don’t have electricity or indoor plumbing but you got robots in your world?” Wasabi said, not believing what he was hearing. 

“Yeah, we call them automatons.” 

“Well, ok then,” Wasabi said with a shrug of resignation, officially giving up trying to make sense of Varian and his world. 

“But if you don’t have electricity then what do the robots run on?” the tall girl joined in on the conversation, taking a seat at the table once more while still holding Ruddigger. 

“Well originally they ran on clockwork. They had a wind up mechanism like a music box,” Varian excitedly explained, “But I improved the design with Flynomium!” He paused for dramatic effect.

“What’s that?” the blonde boy, Fred said, giving Varian just the very question he was looking for. 

“It’s a chemical compound of my own design. It generates steam when it comes into contact with water.” He proudly proclaimed. 

“Sooo they’re steam powered. Then how does the compound work?” The short girl, Gogo asked. 

“Well, when Flynnolium comes in contact with water it quickly dilutes creating an exothermic reaction caused by the disassociation of ions.” 

“Oh, like sodium hydroxide!” The tall girl, Honey Lemon, cheerily chimed in.

“Exactly, in fact lye is one of the components in Flynnolium along with…with..” Varian stopped and stared at the red-headed girl as what she had just said sunk in. She not only had kept up with his scientific explanation but even was able to pinpoint one of its main components just from his description alone. Varian had never met anyone who could do that. In fact most people got bored, irritated, or confused by his scientific ramblings. He then looked around at the other teens sitting at the table. They all were intently looking at him completely engrossed by what he had to say, not giving any indication they were lost or annoyed by his lecture. 

“Go on, we’re listening.” Gogo encouraged him, noting the sudden silence from him. 

“You..you’re all scientists?” Varian asked. 

“Well I’m not. I’m just a science enthusiast, but all these guys are” Fred happily pointed out. 

“We all attend the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology; we also call it the nerd school.” Hiro explained. “I’m a robotics major, Honey Lemon is a chemical engineer, Wasabi is an expert in quantum optics, and Gogo is a double major in mechanical engineering and industrial design.” 

“And I’m the school’s mascot!” Fred shouted enthusiastically. 

“So you’re all scientists _and_ knights?” 

“Ooooooh knights, I like it! Honorable warriors defending their home from outside threats, only to discover that the real threats are from the inside.” Fred said with an air of mysterious ominousness, as if about to launch into a story. 

“Yeah something like that,” Hiro said, waving off the older teen’s over-eagerness. “We use our scientific knowledge to build our armor and weapons in order to protect the city from criminals that the regular police can’t handle. But we try to keep it on the down low. Not many people know what we do, especially my aunt, so I have to ask you to not tell her or anyone else about our knightly escapades, please.” 

Varian promised his secrecy. 

“Thanks, if Aunt Cass ever found out, she’d never let me out of the house again. Also you might not want to tell everyone that you’re from another world while we’re at it.” 

Just then a petite woman with short brown hair walked in carrying two plates of pancakes, interrupting their conversation. She smiled widely at the sight of Varian and set the plates down at the table.

“Oh who’s this? A new friend?” 

“This is Varian, he’s a new foreign exchange student at SFIT.” Hiro explained, already giving Varian a cover story. “Varian this is my Aunt Cass. He starts this new semester and we’re showing him around.”

“Oooh exciting! So you’re new to America then?” 

Varian nodded. 

“Well let me treat you to an all American breakfast, make you feel at home.” She clasped her hands in excitement. “ How do you feel about pancakes with blueberries?” 

“That sounds great, thank you.” Varian replied awkwardly. He wasn’t used to people being genuinely nice to him and the enthusiasm with which the woman greeted him, while appreciated, made Varian feel self-conscious. 

“Splendid! Do you want any coffee to go with it, or would prefer orange juice?”

“Coffee sounds nice.” 

“Sugar, cream? How would you like it?” She was slipping into customer service mode which made Varian feel even more awkward as the questions kept coming. 

“Black?” 

“Ok. I’ll go get that for you.” She sailed away to the counter to grab a coffee pot and cup and Varian sat down at the table next to Honey Lemon. When the woman returned she placed the cup next to him and began to pour the coffee while continuing with what she thought was more small talk. 

“So where are you from?” 

“Old Corona” Varian said unthinkingly, feeling even more uneasy as the woman began to serve him. He wasn’t used to people doing things for him either. However he realized his mistake as soon as he noticed the apprehension in Hiro’s eyes. 

“Old Corona?” Aunt Cass repeated the words back in confusion, “Oh, where’s that?” 

“Europe.” Varian hoped that would be explanation enough but he feared he was digging himself into even more of hole. 

“Oh what part of Europe, near France or Italy?” 

Varian at least had heard of those places so he tried formulating an answer based off that. “It’s northeast of France, near the sea,” hoping a vague truth would ease the questioning. 

“Oh so like near Poland and the Ukraine, one of those old Soviet countries? I’m afraid I was never good at geography. It doesn’t help that everything keeps changing, I still remember when there were two Gremanys on the map at school” She said trying to laugh off her lack of knowledge on the subject. 

Now Varian was completely lost, most of those places he had never heard of before and, another world or no, he couldn’t for the life of him think of any reason why there would be two countries with the same name. He just simply couldn’t think of anything to respond with and silence fell over the group as Aunt Cass and he blankly stared at each other. 

Hiro swooped in to end the awkwardness, “You made yourself feel old again didn’t you?” He said to his aunt in a gently teasing manner, a sly smile creeping across his face. 

“Yep,” Aunt Cass responded; now starring pass Varian as if looking at her own mortality.

“Do you wanna go get those pancakes and exit this awkward conversation?” He suggested. 

“Yep,” Aunt Cass gave a brief nod of agreement and promptly twirled around and headed back into the kitchen. 

Everyone visibly relaxed after she left, having narrowly avoided anymore awkward questions and explanations. Everyone but Varian who now felt both embarrassed and guilty. He took a sip of the coffee she had just given him, hoping no one would notice his face turning red. At least it was good coffee though. Something Varian hadn’t had in ages. 

Fortunately everyone seemed to be eager to move on from the whole affair, and Honey Lemon was the first to change the subject. 

“Your pet is adorable. What’s his name?” 

“Ruddgier,” Varian said, relieved that no one was focusing on his latest screw up.

“Where did you even get him?” Gogo asked. 

“Oh I rescued him from a rabbit snare. Poor thing got his paw snagged trying to steal apples from our orchard. He hasn’t stopped following me around or breaking into our food stores since.” 

Honey Lemon looked at him disquieted, “A rabbit snare? That’s awful.” 

“I know, right? I mean they’re fine for catching rabbits but anything could get caught in them if you aren’t careful. That’s why I tried creating a chemical compound that could more humanely trap pests.” He was now getting excited again. He wanted to talk more about science with the pretty girl who understood chemistry as well as he did, but she unfortunately couldn’t move on from the snare traps. 

“But why would you want to catch bunny rabbits?” Honey Lemon bemoaned in confusion. 

“To stop them from getting to our crops. My village is a farming town.” Varian explained. To him it was just natural. A part of everyday life. He could understand her displeasure over using snares, he didn’t like them either, but not her objections to the act of catching the animals themselves. She just stared at him wide-eyed in response though. Perhaps she needed more clarification as to what was done with the rabbits.

“And we also eat them afterwards.” He hoped that would be enough to quail her concerns; that they weren’t just killing small creatures for no reason at all. He was wrong. 

“You eat _rabbits_!?” She asked, horrified. 

“A lot of people eat rabbits.” Gogo interjected in his defense. “They even sell frozen rabbit meat at the grocery store.” 

“Yeah, it’s what’s hossenfeffer is made from.” Fred pitched in. 

“You’ve had hossenfeffer before?” Wasabi asked in disbelief. 

“Yeah, once. Remember my mom likes to take us to those fancy dinners with all the weird food.” 

Honey Lemon however looked like she was about to cry at this new information and Varian was simply trying to make sense of her discomfort and why this might not be common knowledge. 

“Oh, I guess living in a big city like this you can just go to the market and pick up your dinner?” Varian guessed, trying to ease the tension and offer understanding. “That must be nice. It’s no fun having to butcher your own meat…that’s… that’s just.. unpleasant ….” He trailed off and began to stare into the middle distance as if haunted by bad memories. Awkward silence fell upon the group once more as they all stared back at him in concern, unsure of how to proceed. He really was from a different world from their own. 

Fortunately Aunt Cass returned with more pancakes dispersing the disquiet that had befallen the group. She placed a plate of pancakes in front of Varian who began eating almost immediately to distract from the growing embarrassment he felt. They were delicious, a lot fluffier and buttery than the ones he used to make when he was still living in Old Corona. They were also topped with blueberries and a sweet cream. Along with the hot coffee; it was the best meal Varian had had since leaving prison.

“You want some maple syrup?” Hiro asked, sliding a little glass dispenser with a metal top over to him. 

“Maple?” Varian quizzed. The syrup was dark and thick similar to molasses or treacle, and every bit as sweet. Almost too sweet for Varian, but he poured just a little onto the top of the stack of flat cakes so as not to seem rude. He had caused enough awkwardness for the day. 

After a time, Aunt Cass came over to refill everyone’s drinks and to see if they needed anything. While there she tried to strike up yet another conversation with Varian. She wanted to know more about who her nephew was hanging out with. 

“So Varian, you don’t look much older than Hiro. Did you also get accepted into college early?” She asked as she poured him more coffee. 

Varian wasn’t sure how to respond, he didn’t know that there was an accepted time frame for universities here nor what the qualifications for that time frame would normally be. However he saw Hiro sitting across from him, nodding his head vigorously while his aunt’s back was turned to him. 

“Yeah,” Varian hoped he sounded more confident then he felt.

“Oh, your parents must be so proud then.” She cheerfully said. 

Those words, as kind as they were, sent Varian’s stomach plummeting to the ground. For the briefest of moments he was right back in that cold laboratory next to the dimly glowing amber. Crying on the floor while the snow fell outside. 

Varian swallowed hard and tried to force those images out of his head. It wouldn’t do to start tearing up in front of a bunch of strangers, nor to say anything that could lead to awkward questions about his past. 

“It’s.. It’s just me and my dad, and I..I would hope he is.” Varian explained, hoping that would be an acceptable answer for the woman.

“I’m sure he is.” Aunt Cass told him reassuringly. “I’m guessing he’s still in, Corona, was it?” She continued. 

Varian nodded and then looked down at the plate of pancakes the woman had given him. He’d eaten a little over half of them, but the reminder of his father had left him with little appetite. 

“Thank you for breakfast. It was delicious.” He said, hoping to either change the conversation or excuse himself altogether. 

He stood up and grabbed the plate. “Where do I wash this at?" 

Aunt Cass gently laughed at that question. "Oh that’s very sweet of you, but you don’t have to do the dishes. You just go on and enjoy your day." 

"Yeah we’re about to head out,” Hiro chimed in.“We’re going to go to the mall today." 

"Ok. Y'all have fun.” His aunt said and began to gather up the plates. 

Varian felt a little guilty leaving her with all the work of cleaning up, but she had insisted otherwise and the others were already starting to leave. Varian told her thank you once more and waved goodbye. She flashed him a warm smile in return as he left. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally a much longer chapter, but I cut it in two for layout reasons and time constraints. Hence the "part 1" in the title.


	4. The First Day: Shopping Spree (part 2)

The ‘mall’ was a massive indoor marketplace. It was three stories tall with an open courtyard in the center and a sky-lighted roof above. On each level were open walkways and connecting stairs with rooms off to the side serving as individual shops. Stalls lined the center of the walkways selling even more wares and entrances to larger stores were at the ends of each of the three branching corridors that lead off from the courtyard. 

Varian was easily overwhelmed by the enormity of the place. He stood still in awe for a few moments just drinking in the sight. After his initial surprise began to fade, he took off, excited to explore every nook and cranny he could find, dragging Ruddiger along on a leash. He wanted to see it all; every store, stall, and vendor. 

The first store he came across was one that sold musical instruments. Inside a window display stood a setup of wires and black boxes all connected to what looked like a guitar. Another customer was testing the instrument out and from the boxes emitted a loud strumming noise as he played. Varian ran into the shop with a wide grin, eager to inspect the new invention for himself.

The rest of his new friends followed close behind him, bemused by his curiosity. As soon as the other customer was done testing out the instrument, Varian took the guitar from him and told the others, “this is so much more successful than my own attempts to amplify a guitar’s sound. I just attached a horn to the base of mine.”

He then experimentally began to play an old folk song that he knew. It was just like playing a regular guitar, only it produced a slightly metallic sounding dissonance at the end of each strum. Once he was done, Honey Lemon burst into a round of applause. 

“Oooh, that’s so good!” She enthusiastically cheered and the rest of the group also started to clap. Varian blushed, not used to receiving praise nor ever thinking his musical talents were of anything worth writing home about. 

“Man, I would love to have this in my own world.” he said as he placed the guitar back onto its display stand. 

“You’ll need electricity to make it work.” Wasabi informed him. “Come on, let’s get you the clothes we came for and then you can check out the rest of the shops.” 

With that, they all filed out of the music store and walked over to the first clothing outlet. 

As soon as they entered, Honey Lemon gasped in joy and ran over to a bunch of racks where articles of clothing hung and a big yellow ‘sale’ sign stood on top. 

“Yay! They have bikinis on sale!” She exclaimed and pulled one of the suits of clothes off of the rack and bounded away to the other end of the shop where a couple of enclosures stood. Presumably to try on the aforementioned, ‘bikini’, whatever that was. 

“Oh that reminds me,” Hiro said,” we’re going to the beach next weekend. You should come along if you’re still here by then.” 

“Yeah, we’ll make sure to buy you a bathing suit on top of the other stuff you need.” Wasabi agreed. 

“Bathing suit?” Varian echoed in confusion. 

“Yeah, for swimming in. You.. you do know how to swim don’t you?” Wasabi asked. 

“Of course I know how to swim.” Varian said indignantly. He had grown up next to a river his whole life, and the ocean itself was in walking distance of his village. Though it was a full day’s worth of travel to get there and back. However, swimming as a leisure activity was one that was normally done by one’s self. It just wouldn’t do to be caught running around in wet under-drawers in public. “I just never heard of needing special clothes to swim in.” Varian continued to explain. 

Just then their conversation was interrupted by Honey Lemon calling to them. “Hey guys, what do you think of this one?” She flung open the door to the fitting room and that was when Varian found out what exactly a bikini was. 

She was dressed in a rather revealing two piece orange swimsuit. The gang called out compliments to her as she gave a little twirl to show off the piece of clothing in full. All but Varian, who stared at her with bated breath. He had never seen anyone wear so little before in person and in that moment she reminded him of images of Greek goddesses he once saw in a book. 

Fortunately, only Gogo noticed his flustration. She explained to him that this was what girls normally wore to go swimming in and Varian was reminded once again how out of place he was in this world. That he wasn’t just in a new country with new inventions, but one with its own culture and societal standards. 

Ears burning, he turned his attention to the rest of the clothing racks hoping to focus on something else and avoid embarrassing himself any further. He was just grateful that Honey Lemon herself hadn’t seen his faux pas. She had been nothing but nice to him and he would have hated to have accidentally offended her. 

However nothing more came from the incident. Honey Lemon went back to the changing room to put on her regular clothes again and Varian, along with the others help, chose some outfits to buy. 

He picked out some long sleeved buttoned shirts. One was a dark burgundy and made of a light cotton material. The second one was light blue and made of a sturdier material called denim. It also had pockets on the front and Varian figured it’d make for a good work shirt. 

He also found a white linen collared shirt. This one had a single pocket on one side. Such shirts were usually reserved for special occasions in his world and he had never owned anything so fine in his life.

Finally, he found on sale something called a ‘flannel’ shirt. It was made of a thick wool like material and was checkered with crossing red and green stripes. Varian had never seen such a dyed pattern before and personally found it impressive looking, though the others were more non-pulsed by it. He was told it was ‘out of season’ , hence it being on sale, but he didn’t care, he was planning on keeping these clothes for longer than just a season after all. 

Next he picked out some pants. He found two pairs made of the same denim as the previous shirt. One had a darker blue tint and hung loosely around his ankles. The sign above it said ‘boot cut’ and Varian figured it would do well to have something that went with his Saporian boots.The other was of a lighter blue and was more form fitting. The sign above it said ‘slim cut’.

He also found a pair of light brown pants with several large pockets. Hiro called them cargo pants. They were a little baggy but the idea of having all those pockets on hand while working was enough for Varian to get them. At Wasabi’s insistence he also bought two pairs of ‘dress pants’. They were pressed and straight cut and he got one in black and another pair in a light tan color called khaki. 

Satisfied with his selection, they made their way to the counter where Fred generously paid for everything. Varian offered to pay him back as soon as he could earn some money of his own but the older teen just shrugged it off and told him not to worry about it. 

Apparently Fred came from a wealthy family and had more than enough money to spare. All he asked for in return was that Varian and the others would stop at his favorite store while here. 

It was called a comic shop and it sold games, toys, and various small books full of illustrations. In fact they were made of nothing but illustrations. There were no words on the page save for the occasional line of dialogue and the drawings themselves told the story. 

Varian thought them to be young children’s picture books at first glance and couldn’t see the fuss. But Fred was practically bursting with excitement as he ran around the store. 

“Now my young protege, welcome to a whole new world of wonder, excitement, and adventure! Here you shall embark upon your first quest into geekdom..” Fred exclaimed in all seriousness before gathering up various comics for Varian to try. 

“Protege?” Varian questioningly whispered to Wasabi while the other boy was busy. 

“Don’t think too much about it. Once you get to know Fred long enough you tend to learn when to tune him out.” Wasabi whispered back. 

Just then Fred dumped a stack of comics into Varian’s arms and he had to quickly readjust his stance so as not to drop their collective weight. He struggled to peer over the top of the pile as Fred launched into a frantic explanation about the story of the comic he himself was currently holding. Varian though was struggling to keep up. 

Fortunately, Gogo came to his rescue again.

“Seriously, Fred, he doesn’t need you to buy him the whole store.” She admonished the blonde haired boy. “Look, just get him one. Let him try it out and see if he likes it.” With that she picked up one of the comics off the top of the stack, indicating that it should be the one that Varian got. 

“Aww but, he needs to read at least one from each of the big two; IC and Wonder comics!” Fred whined in return and held the comic he was currently holding up in a pleading manner.

Gogo rolled her eyes and relented. “Fine, but only two, now put the rest of these back where they go.” She took the comic Fred was holding from him and then gave the stack Varian was holding back to Fred. She then proceeded to watch Fred as he put all the comics back in their place; like a mother making sure her small child was cleaning up his room. 

Once everything was back in its place, Fred paid for the two books and handed them to Varian. One was titled ‘Miracle Maiden’ and had a drawing of a woman, dressed in red and blue star-studded armor, wielding a spear and leading an army to victory on the cover. The other was called ‘The Avenger’ and on the front was the picture of a man dressed all in black standing on top of a tower in the rain with a cityscape sprawling behind him. He held in his hand a skull, as if he was reciting Hamlet’s famous soliloquy. 

Varian had to admit that the covers looked intriguing, but there was little time to read through them as they we’re off to the next store. 

The next shop was one that sold electronics. Varian starred in wonder at the various inventions. Fascinated, he went to poke and prod each new device; bubbling over with questions about each one. His friends patiently answered him in kind. 

While there, it was decided that Varain would need something called a ‘cell phone’ for the duration of his stay. The phone was the same black box he had seen Wasabi use earlier that day. Apparently the device was for long range communication. One could talk to another person miles away so long as they also had a similar device. 

The trick, however, was one required the services of an outside source to connect the two devices. So you had to pay another company for 'minutes’ on a regular basis. Since no one knew how long Varian would be stuck in this world the gang collectively decided to buy him a cheap 'prepaid’ phone. You simply bought a new card whenever you ran out of minutes instead of paying a monthly fee and Varian hoped that if he was here for longer than a month he’d be able to earn the money to buy that himself. He was already feeling guilty that everyone was going so much out of their way for him. But everyone kept insisting that it was no big deal and that they were happy to help. 

“I’ll help you set the phone up when we get back to the dormitory.” Wasabi told him. “Get you everyone’s phone numbers so you call any of us if you need something." 

“Also don’t worry about the money,” Gogo reassured him. “No one expects you to have it all together given the circumstances. If you see something that you would like just let us know.” 

And ‘find something” Varian did. He spotted in a display window a shirt with alchemy symbols printed on the front and excitedly ran inside. To his disappointment the establishment was not in fact an alchemy store, but rather a novelty shop that sold various clothing and accessories. However, setting that aside, there were still quite a few things that caught Varian’s interest. Including the aforementioned shirt. It was black, with short sleeves, and in gold print were various triangular images lined down its front. 

“What’s with the triangles?” Wasabi asked when Varian showed off his find. 

“They’re alchemy symbols. Each one is a different element; water, fire, earth, and air.” Varian explained while pointing out each ideogram. 

Wasabi nodded along as if he understood, but he didn’t fully comprehend the significance of what Varian was saying. 

“And that’s important because…?” 

“Because, I’m an alchemist.” Varian replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I had hoped this store would be selling like ingredients for alchemical potions or something, but it looks like this shirt is all they have.” 

“Yeeeah, no one’s seriously practiced alchemy in like hundreds of years.” Hiro interjected. 

“But you still have chemistry and engineering?” Varian responded, confused by how the two most important applications of his field could be around but not the science itself. 

“That’s because they’re considered their own separate fields of study.” Hiro explained. 

“Chemistry kind of replaced alchemy in this world,” Honey Lemon carefully interceded. “Now we use the periodic table instead of symbols. Oh, like this one.” She cheerfully held up another shirt that she had found. On it was printed a graph with various colored squares and upon closer inspection Varian noticed that each box corresponded to an element. 

“Wow. Look how many new chemical elements have been discovered,” Varian breathed in wonder. 

“I know right!?” Honey Lemon exclaimed. “Ooooh, we should get matching tee-shirts. We could be chemistry buddies!” She leaned in towards him as she said this, her face a mere foot away from his own. She had a wild gleam in her eye and a smile so wide that it threatened to split her face in two.

Varian had never seen someone so excited by chemistry before. Well, no one but himself that was, and he found himself agreeing to her proposal in a dizzy haze. The enthusiasm with which the girl threw herself into everything made Varian feel off-kiltered. She hardly seemed real; no one was ever this nice, this genuine, this… _earnest_ all the time. 

Or maybe they were. Maybe his time as a criminal had him so disillusioned that he had forgotten what real people were actually like. 

She handed to him the shirt that she was holding and picked out a new one for herself. It was exactly the same as his own, light material and short sleeved, but instead of grey her’s was a bright sky blue. 

From there, Varian found other things within the shop that also intrigued him. First was a lighter jacket, called a ‘hoodie’. It was shorter than the great frock coat he currently wore and made of a less heavier material, with a hood attached and a large pocket in the center. He didn’t want to admit it to Wasabi but he did indeed find himself getting overly hot in the bright heat of the day. Apparently, San Fansokyo had a warmer climate than he was used to. The hoodie was red with the image of a raccoon printed on the front with the word RENEGADE underneath in bold white letters. Both he and Ruddiger found it amusing.

He also bought a couple of belts, and a new pair of suspenders. These had a fanciful black and white diamond design woven into the material and were clearly meant to be worn on the outside unlike the leather straps he currently wore under his vest. Both of the belts were in black, though one had silver studs across it and came with a matching necklace that, to Varian, looked kind of like a collar. 

He was also lucky enough to come across a wallet with more alchemy symbols imprinted onto the leather. It was the philosopher’s stone diagram and the whole thing came with a chain and clip to attach to his belt. 

Wasabi suggested that Varian should also pick out a backpack to carry some of his new stuff in while they were there. He chose one made from a dark green canvas. It had lots of pockets with leather buckled straps and was big enough to hold most of the new clothes he had bought. 

Just when he was about ready to check out, he noticed the two girls perusing over a stand filled with tiny brightly colored bottles. Curious he walked over to join them. 

“What about this color?” He overheard Honey Lemon ask Gogo as she held up a bottle that was a bright shade of pink.

“Eh, not my style but it should look good on you.” Gogo replied. 

“What is it?” Varian interrupted. 

“Nail polish, you use it to paint your fingernails.” Gogo answered. 

Varian picked up one of the bottles to inspect it. The bottles were made of clear glass and he could see that the various colors he had first noticed were in fact thick colorful liquids contained within each. The one he held in his hand was a black color with a shimmering sheen that glinted when he curiously swirled the bottle around. 

“Only it’s not like oil paint. It’s made of synthetic polymers.” Honey Lemon explained further. “Like a type of plastic.” 

Varian didn’t know what ‘plastic’ was but he did know a lot about polymers. Polymer was a Greek word meaning ‘part’ and in alchemy was used to refer to organic compounds whose structures were composed of multiple repeating units. He had never heard of a _man made_ polymer though. 

“Fascinating” Varian whispered as he continued to hypnotically stare at the bottle as he held it up to the light. 

Unbeknownst to him, the two girls shared bemused looks between each other while he was distracted. They found his curiosity over simple ordinary things both simultaneously amusing and endearing. 

“Do you want to try some out?” Gogo prompted. 

“Yeah,” Varian absently said all while still looking at the liquid trying to decipher its chemical makeup from sight alone. 

“Yay! We can have a makeup party! I can help you put it on!’ Honey Lemon cheered, “Which color do you want?” 

“This one will do.” Varian said, still barely focusing on what the other two girls were saying. He turned to carry the bottle and the rest of his items to the counter, still never fully taking his eyes off the liquid. Until he was stopped by Honey Lemon that is. 

“Oh you’ll need this too.” She pulled a larger bottle off the top of the shelf and handed it to him. It was filled with a clear liquid and the words ‘nail polish remover’ was printed on a label on the front. “It’s acetone, “ She explained “It’ll dissolve the paint once it’s dried.” 

“Ahh” Varian nodded his head in realization. Acetone had a lot of alchemical usages; so he was already familiar with the substance. With all that settled they finally went to check out. Once everything was paid for the gang decided that it was time for lunch. 

* * *

The food court in the center of the mall was a veritable feast of sights, smells, and tastes. Eateries of all sorts were tucked into every nook and cranny. Food stalls were scattered here and there, in amongst tables and chairs for guests to sit and eat at. Vendors sold delicacies from all over the globe and some specialized in serving rare treats like coffee, chocolates, or teas. 

Varian was bombarded with the scents of various spices, sweets, and meats being prepared a hundred different ways. And everywhere he turned he spied mouth watering dishes being severed to crowds of people. 

Wasabi gave him a slip of the green paper that served as currency in this world. On its surface was printed the number twenty with the image of a woman Varian did not recognize on one side and a picture of a large stately manor on the opposite. 

He was told to pick out whatever he liked, while everyone else shuffled off to their own choice of cuisine. However this proved to be easier said than done. There were far too many options to choose from and Varian didn’t know where to start. 

Some of the merchants stood to the side and offered free samples to the passing customers. Which Varian figured might be helpful in making a decision, if it wasn’t for Ruddiger. 

His pet was all stomach and far too eager to try the tasty morsels to mind any manners. It was all Varian could do to keep the raccoon from climbing on to the poor waiters and stealing pawfulls of the treats. Once he had managed to stop him from assaulting the servers, the animal was off to bother the guests sitting at the tables. 

"Sorry,” he apologetically mumbled as he grabbed Ruddiger and pulled him away from another customer’s tray of food.

He held his pet tightly in his arms as the critter struggled to get away. Things were starting to get out of hand and Varian needed to make a decision fast before Ruddiger caused even more of a scene. That was when he spotted Hiro and Honey Lemon standing in line to order food from one of the establishments and he figured it was as good as any other place so he walked over to join them.

The restaurant was one that served meals from the island of Japan and their specialty was a soup that was called ramen. The stew consisted of noodles in a clear broth and from there customers could choose what toppings to be added to the dish. Varian didn’t even recognize half of the options on the menu so he stuck to only things he knew; pork slices, boiled egg, mustard greens, and slices of green onion. 

He then joined his friends at a nearby table. He sat Ruddiger down between himself and Honey Lemon in a special enclosed chair predominantly meant for small children and then tied his leash to the back of the chair’s legs. That way even if his pet escaped he still couldn’t run off to bug anyone else. 

Though he doubted it would be necessary, as Honey Lemon was already feeding Ruddiger pieces of food from her own meal. The raccoon greedily gulped down the bits of egg and noodle given to him while the tall girl cooed words of encouragement as if he was a small baby and not a wild animal. 

“Don’t feed that thing with your bare hands.” Wasabi admonished her as he came to over join them. “It hasn’t had its shots yet. I gotta take him to the vet on Monday." 

"Oh good, he’ll need a checkup.” Honey Lemon agreed, all the while continuing to pet Ruddiger as she fed him, completely ignoring Wasabi’s advice. 

Varian had to chuckle at the irony of that as he sat down to eat himself. Then he noticed the utensils they had given him. 

“What’s this?” Varian asked as he held up two wooden sticks. 

“Chopsticks,” Hiro explained. “ You hold the two pieces in your hand, like this, and use them to pick up the food.” He then proceeded to demonstrate how to do just that. 

“Who eats _soup_ with _sticks_?” Varian asked in disbelief. The practice seemed totally impractical to Varian, but he gave it a try anyways, mimicking the other boy’s actions, and promptly failing at it. 

No matter how hard he tried he couldn’t get his hands to hold the chopsticks correctly and the food kept sliding out from between them. Finally he just angrily impaled the dish with the two wooden dowels, attempting to utilize them like you would a fork, but this too proved to be unsuccessful. 

He gave up in frustration and was about ready to just drink from the bowl directly, when Wasabi took pity on him and brought him a spoon that he acquired from another vendor. 

The soup had a savory, salty taste not unlike a consommé. It was however the combination of noodles and toppings that made the dish stand out to Varian, giving the stew a unique texture. He also made sure to give Ruggider some so that Honey Lemon wouldn’t have to give the raccoon all of her food. 

* * *

After lunch Honey Lemon wanted to stop in a store that sold candles, soaps, and perfumes. The combined scents of flowers, herbs, fruits, and pastries wafting through the air was nearly overpowering. Any one of the fragrances might have been nice on their own but all combined together was too much. Fortunately, Varian wasn’t the only one with this opinion and the rest of the guys in the group went into a separate but connected side of the store that sold toiletries for men. 

Once there, the other boys helped Varian pick out some soap, shampoo, cologne, and something called deodorant, which was meant to help stop sweating. Wasabi also bought him a shaving kit that included some disposable razors. They looked far safer than the steel blades men had to use in his world. In truth he didn’t really need to shave yet, but he wasn’t going to tell the other teens that. He was already sixteen, and the fact that he hadn’t grown a single hair on his face was a source of some shame for Varian. Better to let them think he was clean shaven then risk having his manliness questioned. 

Afterwards they met back up with the girls and continued to explore the mall. There were stores of every kind selling anything you could think of. Jewelry, more clothing outlets, games, athletic gear for sports, shoes, music, sweets and candies, furniture, novelty knicknacks, decorative items for rooms such as rugs and lampshades, kitchen supplies, barber shops and nail salons, a spa, a ‘magic’ store that sold crystal balls and healing stones, (something Varian turned his nose up at), more electronics, and even a second hand store that sold anything as long as it was used. The last one Gogo stopped into real quick and reemerged carrying an old, beat up, guitar that she gave to Varian. It wasn’t electric and it needed tuning and some new strings but Varian was very grateful for her thoughtfulness. 

However, out of all the wondrous shops and stalls he had seen that day, his favorite by far was the book store; walls and shelves lined with nothing but novels, magazines, and thick research books. Everything was divided up into categories and genres and he made a beeline to the section labeled ‘Action/Adventure’. He scanned the titles and covers hoping to find something familiar or at least interesting to read. 

Reading was one of his favorite activities. He loved being transported away on grand adventures through the words on the page. It was a relief to a lonely farm boy, to pretend he was some hero in a far off land, befriended and admired, where the dangers weren’t real and you could come home again whenever. Sadly, he was no hero and the dangers he had faced were very real. Because of them, he hadn’t had the chance to just curl up and read a good story in nearly a year and a half. 

“Do you have any Flynn Rider stories in this world?” Varian asked Hiro, who had walked over to join him. 

“No, I don’t think so. What’s it about?” 

“Flynn Rider is an amazing ne’er-do-well swashbuckling adventurer. He rides around exploring various far off lands, tricking villains and saving people from nefarious evil doers.” Varian explained all while thrusting his arm out in a mock display of sword fighting. 

Hiro gave a little laugh at the other boy’s antics. “No never hear of him, but there’s lots of other adventure books you may like; Robin Hood,Treasure Island… oh and this one. It’s one of my favorites.” 

Hiro picked up a book from off the shelf and gave it to Varian. It was a small novel titled, ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’, and on the cover was the image of a boy wearing a straw hat and painting a white picket fence. Varian though couldn’t fathom what was ‘adventurous’ about doing such a menial chore. 

“It’s about a boy growing up on the Mississippi river and he and his best friend witness a murder while hunting for buried treasure.” Hiro explained. 

Varian had to admit that the description provided was certainly a lot more interesting than the cover would initially suggest. 

“My brother, Tadashi, used to read it to me when I was younger.” he said with a more hesitant and somber tone to his voice. 

“Tadashi?” Varian queried. He hadn’t met anyone by that name yet and wondered why he wasn’t at breakfast this morning if he was supposed to be Hiro’s family. 

“Uh, yeah, he passed away last year.” Hiro said with a little crack to his voice. 

Varian’s heart dropped. He had been so caught up in his own problems, and the brief respite from them that this world provided, that it never occurred to him that anyone else was suffering. He felt foolish now for being so oblivious. 

“Sorry, I.. I didn’t mean to..I” He tried to stumble out an apology for his lack of tact, but the other teen interrupted him. 

“It’s ok. You didn’t know.” 

A brief moment of silence passed, where neither boy wanted to meet the other’s gaze, and then Hiro continued on, trying to awkwardly change the subject.

“Uh, if you want to give it a read, I could buy it for you” He said pointing to the book Varian still held in his hand. 

“You, sure?” Varian asked, “It wouldn’t be too much?” 

“Naw, it’s only five bucks.” Hiro laughed. 

Varian didn’t know what a ‘buck’ was nor if five was a substantial amount or not, but he appreciated the offer and made an agreement to read the story the first chance he got. 

* * *

The last shop they visited for the day was one of the larger department stores attached to the mall. There they gathered up the remaining items that he needed. A couple of undershirts, a pack of underwear, and some socks. Two new pairs of shoes, one pair was white and made for running and were called ‘tennis shoes’, and the other was a pair of brown work boots. Varian didn’t want to mess up his nicer Saporian boots while experimenting, so he figured having them on hand would be prudent. 

He also bought a pair of thick brown overalls for working in as well, since leather aprons weren’t common, along with a short sleeved collared shirt in teal green that Wasabi called a ‘polo shirt’. In addition to the work clothes, Varian bought two pairs of shorter britches in case the warmer weather proved to be too much for trousers. One pair was grey and called ‘jogger shorts’ and made of the same light material as the hoodie he had bought previously and the other was dark green ‘cargo shorts’ that held several pockets just like the cargo pants. 

To round things off, he also got a pair of swimming trunks, a sleeveless shirt called a ‘tank top’ to go with it, and a pair of pajamas to sleep in. That, along with the clothes Wasabi had given him the night before, brought his total number of outfits to twelve. He still couldn’t believe how much he had been given. Anyone else in his world would be envious of such a vast wardrobe, but here it was deemed comparably small. It was still enough though, that Wasabi thought to buy some cheap plastic drawers for Varian to store his new clothes in. There would be just enough room to place them next to the couch. 

Wasabi also bought him some basics that he might need, while there. Toothbrush, toothpaste, washcloth, towel, sheets and his own blanket, a pillow, and a notebook and pencils to work with. He was asked if he would like a hat as well, but Varian rarely took off his goggles so he declined. He did however take notice of several small timepieces that were on display nearby. They were called watches and were like tiny clocks you wore on your wrist. They came in all shapes and sizes and colors, some rustic looking and others more high-tech. Varian went with one that displayed the inner brass gears through the glass and came attached to a leather band. 

* * *

Finally the day came to a close and they all convened out in the vast parking lot as the sun was setting. Fred had called his manservant to come pick him and Hiro up, and the rest of the gang was waiting for him to arrive. They hung around just simply talking and laughing and Varian thought to himself just how much fun he was having and how much fun the day itself had been. He hadn’t had _fun_ in a good long while. Longer than he cared to admit to himself and he really couldn’t even remember the last time he had enjoyed the company of other people close to his age. 

“Oh, there’s Heathcliff” Fred exclaimed as a long black car pulled into the lot. Apparently it was called a ‘limo’ and was quite an expensive vehicle. Though, Fred himself made no big deal about his social status.

“Bye guys, see ya later! Oh, and tell me what you think of the comics as soon as you get the change to read them, ok!” Fred told Varian. 

Varian promised he would and waved the blonde boy goodbye as he got into the car. 

“I texted Professor Granville. She said she’ll meet us on campus on Monday at nine in the morning. That’s in two days, so I’ll see you then.” Hiro said to him with a parting smile and got into the limo with Fred. 

“We better be off as well.” Gogo said. She put on a helmet and sat upon a two wheeled vehicle called a motorbike that she and Honey Lemon had ridden there. 

“I hope you had a great time on your first day here. I sure did.” Honey Lemon said with a sweet smile and then gave Varian a quick hug before bounding away and hopping on to the bike behind Gogo. That was certainly not something he had been expecting to happen and once again he felt knocked for a loop by the pretty girl. All he could do was dumbly wave back at her as she and Gogo sped away on the bike. 

“So did you?” Wasabi asked as he leaned against his own car with a bemused smile upon his face. “Did you have a good time today?” He clarified when Varian looked back at him in confusion. 

“Oh yeah, yeah. Loads of fun. This world is amazing.” Varian answered back. 

“Well good. I’m glad your first day went well. Let’s head home. I’ll pick us up some tacos for dinner on the way.”

“What are tacos?” Varian asked as he entered the car, while unbeknownst to him, off in the distance, a pair of eyes watched as he and the green vehicle departed. 

“Soon.” A voice said to no one in particular. “The time is coming soon.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is as good as a time as any to inform those reading to check out this story's tumblr. https://rocksandrobots.tumblr.com/  
> Lot's supplementary material, like illustrations, comics, and character designs.  
> Nothing mandatory for the story but fun nonetheless


	5. The Interview

**It** was Monday morning and Varian stood outside on the university grounds waiting. Hiro had told him that he was to meet with the school’s headmaster today. He needed to speak to this Professor Granville about obtaining supplies to build a new portal machine to send him home. 

Varian had never met a dean of a university before. He wanted to look his best to impress such an important person. He wore the white linen shirt he had bought on Saturday and a pair of the khaki dress pants, both pressed and ironed the night before, along with his Sapporian boots, polished and shined to match the black belt he wore. On his head, he still wore his customary goggles but he made sure to polish them as well. 

Wasabi had tried to comb and fix his hair this morning, but it was already back to its usual unkempt state. It hadn’t even stayed in place for twenty minutes before his swept back bangs started falling and the cowlick on top of his head started to spring back up despite the use of styling gel, much to Wasabi’s frustration. However there was no time to fool with it any more as Wasabi had to leave early to take Ruddiger to the vet. 

Varian deeply appreciated the older teen’s assistance. For the duration of his stay, Wasabi had gone out of his way to help Varian and make him feel at home. Not asking for anything in return, nor walking back on any promises (no matter how much the existence of Ruddiger annoyed him), and going above and beyond anything a regular person from Varian’s world would do. He was far different from any other fair-weather ‘friend’ Varian previously had. 

They had spent the previous day hanging out together at the dormitory. Wasabi teaching Varian various things about this new world and helping him and Ruddiger get situated. 

They set up the cage for Ruddiger to sleep in. There wasn't much room in the apartment for such a large kennel so they had to tuck it up under the kitchen table. Placing the pet bed and bowls of food and water inside. Ruddiger hated it. He much preferred the fake log that Varian wedged into the corner above the sofa; curling up there whenever possible. 

As for said sofa, Wasabi took the new sheets and blankets he’d bought and fixed them up into a proper bed. With the cushions tucked tightly into a fitted sheet and the new pillow fluffed up and placed at one end. 

Next to the couch they put up the small chest of drawers and organized Varian's new things. Helping him to set up his own little space inside the small apartment.

He also helped Varian set up his new phone. Teaching him how to make calls, text, and the myriad of secondary functions the device could perform. But the most impressive thing about the new phone was something called the internet. It was a world wide information and communication exchange system. All of human kind’s accumulated knowledge, history, and personal banalities was a mere click away. 

Varian started off reading about the history of quantum physics on an online encyclopedia, which somehow led to him arguing with a person in someplace called Indiana over the exact meaning of the pentagram symbol on something called a public forum, and finally ending up watching a bunch of moving pictures, called video, of seals playing in the Antarctic. All in less than an hour. 

One could get lost in the sea of words, images, and sounds that this new invention had to offer. Varian could only marvel at just how smart and well educated the people of this world must be with such wells of information so easily accessible to the public at large. In his world, all they had were books and you could only get those that happened to be shipped to whatever area you lived in. Corona itself only had one bookstore, located on the island capital, if Varian wanted new reading material he either had to make a trip into town or hope that some of the traveling merchants had any on hand they were willing to part with. 

Thus the day had passed until Wasabi had to leave to go on patrol. In his absence, Varian did a bunch of chores. He took Ruddiger for a walk, cleaned up the washroom, and tried to cook dinner. 

He had wanted to surprise Wasabi with a good meal as a way of thank you. Unfortunately the little makeshift kitchen wasn't well stocked. Varian had very little to work with and some of the stuff on hand was unfamiliar to him. 

Worse, the only thing to cook with was the microwave and toaster. Wasabi had shown him how such appliances worked but he hadn't had much practice with them. 

Ultimately he had decided on fixing some oatmeal. That was easy enough and Wasabi had everything to cook it with. He poured the milk and oatmeal into a pot and placed it in the microwave and set the timer for thirty minutes. He then cut up some new tropical yellow fruit called bananas to go in it. Ruddiger loved the rare treat and Varian had to cut him up his own banana slices so as to keep the animal from stealing their supper. 

Varian also tried out the toaster. The pieces of bread turned out a little darker then he had expected but all in all he was happy with his first attempt. He buttered them up and started on a second batch. 

He was just hunting down a sweetener to use in the oatmeal when Wasabi came home. 

The tall man nearly cried with joy when he spotted the newly cleaned bathroom.

"You … you _cleaned_? Like, you scrubbed down the shower and the sink and everything! And I didn't even have to ask you!?" 

"Well yeah. If I'm going to be staying here awhile I might as well do my part in maintaining the place" Varian said matter-of-factly, not understanding what the big deal was. 

"You don't get it. I've never had a roommate who would help out with chores. Trying to get those guys to even just fold laundry every once in while was like pulling teeth. And I've gone through a lot of roommates in the past two years." Wasabi said with a weary tone at the end, as if recalling some those failed partnerships. He then switched back to present. "Thank you, man." He said with an appreciative smile. 

Varian was about to tell him that he was welcome, but then the microwave exploded. 

Sparks were flying from the sides and oatmeal came gushing out from the front. The interior light was flickering on and off and smoke poured out the back. 

Wasabi gave a little scream and ran past Varian to unplug the device before it caught on fire. 

Apparently one wasn't supposed to put metal into a microwave. Which Varian personally considered as a design flaw, but he kept this opinion to himself and instead profusely apologized. He promised to replace the machine but Wasabi only sighed and told him not to worry about it. 

All was not lost though as Wasabi ordered Chinese take out for dinner instead. Varian had to admit that the bowls of rice, vegetables, and meats covered in various sauces were far more substantial than the oatmeal he had had originally planned. In particular he enjoyed the pork dumplings. They reminded him of the pierogi he would make back home but with a thinner pasta shell instead of the thicker breading he used. 

Varian recalled yesterday's events and had only just resolved to himself to make it up to Wasabi somehow, when he spotted Hiro walking towards him. 

He was talking to an older woman with short dark brown hair and piercing brown eyes. She was smartly dressed in a grey business suit and carried with her a folder and pen. 

Trailing behind the two of them, Baymax wobbled along. Not being able to keep up with his stubby legs. 

"He's really smart; He just doesn't understand our world fully. But, he can learn things real quick." Varian overheard Hiro say. He figured they were talking about him, and that the lady must be Professor Granville, but the older woman said nothing in response nor gave any indication that she was impressed by what Hiro was saying. 

"Oh there he is." Hiro pointed out to her. He waved at Varian and excitedly broke into a jog to meet him first. 

"Hey! Varian, this is Professor Granville. Professor Granville, this is Varian." Hiro introduced them as the woman came up to meet them.

Professor Granville did not hurry, she remained calm and composed as she walked over to join the two boys. She appeared almost regal like, to Varian; tall, aloof, and fully in charge. However, despite this cold demeanor, her face did break into a warm smile when she met Varian's gaze. 

"Ah, the boy who built the portal. Hiro has told me all about you. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." 

Her voice, while not unkind, did hold an air of authority to it. A tone that very much conveyed that this was her domain and that Varian was merely a guest in it. Like a queen meeting one of her newest subjects. 

Varian didn't know whether to wave hello, shake hands, or give a bow to the woman. Not that she gave him much choice. 

No sooner did he squeak out a faint 'hi' did she sail past him and opened one of the large double doors. 

"If you'll kindly follow me, we'll go ahead and begin your interview." She said while holding the door open for him. 

"Interview?" Varian echo. 

"Yes. All prospective students must complete a college interview if they are to attend SFIT." She said matter-of-factly. 

Varian looked to Hiro in confusion. He thought he was here to talk about gaining supplies for his experiments, not to become a student. Hiro however only gave him a shrug in reply. So Varian moved to follow the woman. 

"I'll meet you out here when you're done." Hiro said to him as he walked into the darkened hallway and Professor Granville closed the door behind her. 

* * *

"Right this way." Professor Granville led her newest charge into an empty classroom. It was a spacious lecture hall with a desk at one end and upon the blackboard were mathematical equations written up. All of the staff had returned a week early from spring break to prepare for the coming summer semester and Granville had planned on continuing setting up for her next class after she was done admitting the new student. 

Hiro had explained the whole situation to her, about the portals and the kid from another world who had built them, and for her part she figured it best to go ahead and enroll him. That way he could have access to any materials he needed to continue with his experiments, a place to stay during that time, and more importantly she could help forge for him any legal documents that he would undoubtedly need to get by. Not to mention that if the boy could indeed deliver on his portals then it would be a great boon for the school and its reputation. 

"Have a seat please." She indicated for him to sit down in a chair that she had pulled up to the desk. He did so, and she sat on the other side and opened her folder.

“Now first I’ll need your full name.” She instructed as she clicked her pen and made ready to fill out the application form for him. 

“Varian.” The boy replied,“ uh, V-A-R-I-A-N”

She wrote the name he had spelled out down and waited for him to continue, only no other names were forthcoming. She looked up and asked,“And your last name?”

“I haven’t got one.”

“They don’t have last names where you come from?” She asked. The boy was from another world so who knew what other customs they had. 

“Oh no, there are people with last names.” He clarified. “It’s just I’m the only Varian in my village so there was never any need for one. If anyone ever referred to me by anything else it was usually either, you know, ‘Here’s Varian the alchemist’ or ‘There goes Quirin’s son.’” He paused briefly before explaining further, “Uh, Quirin’s my dad’s name.” 

“And how do you spell that?” 

“Q-U-I-R-I-N” He replied while the professor went back to writing. When done she looked back up and continued her line of questioning.

“Very well Mr. Quirinson, now I’ll need a former residency to put on your application. Mr. Harmada has already mentioned that your country of origin does not exist in our world, but I’ll need an equivalency to put on your official documents.” She took a globe that was sitting upon her desk and handed it to Varian. “Why don’t you see if you can find anything familiar and maybe we can glean a substitute from that.” 

Varian scanned the globe, gazing over the continent of Europe; his finger following its northern coastline on the map. Everything was jumbled up. Countries were missing, new ones he had never heard of before in their places, what kingdoms he did recognize had different borders to what he had previously known. Even the geography was different, with rivers, lakes, and mountain ranges appearing in different places. Everything was slightly off. As if someone had taken a map from his world and then proceeded to move everything slightly to the left. 

Finally, in his confusion, he found something. A small peninsula jutting out into the Baltic Sea, and next to it were the words The Curonian Spit. It didn't look exactly like his Corona and it was spelled differently, but it was a peninsula, it was on the northern sea, and it was in the general vicinity, northeast of France. 

"Uh, here." He said while pointing to his find. Professor Granville peered over the desk to see the tiny country his index finger nearly covered. 

"Kaliningrad Oblast." She read, curiously, before sitting back down and turning to her computer. She looked up the country in question. "Says here Kaliningrad was a former part of Germany and is now a territory of Russia. I don't suppose you speak either Russian or German do you?" 

"I speak both actually." Normally Varian would brag about just how many languages he did know, but for right now he was just confused. He still didn't fully understand why this barrage of questions was important. 

"Excellent!" The professor exclaimed. "We'll get a passport and a student visa to you in no time. Now I'll just need your date of birth." 

"March the 24th." 

"And the year." 

"1638." 

Professor Granville paused, and slowly looked up from the form she was filling out. 

"1638? As in 1638, _A.D._?" She asked in disbelief. 

Varian nodded his head. 

"You are aware that it is currently the year 2015 in this world, right?" She continued. 

Varian could only stare blankly back at her and shrugged his shoulders. 

"Maybe our worlds have different calendars?" He offered up helpfully. 

"Must be." Granville agreed quietly. There was no way a child from the mid 1600s could possibly have invented an inter-dimensional portal, she thought. Out loud though she only asked. "How old are you, Mr. Quirinson?" 

"Sixteen." 

She wrote 03/24/1999 unto the form. "Now I'll need the name of the last school you attended and we'll be done with the formalities." 

"I..I've never been to school before." He stuttered, suddenly self conscious. This was where he'd be rejected he knew. Poor farm boys didn't get fancy educations. She undoubtedly would decline to admit him and he'll be left scrambling for another means of rebuilding a machine to get home with.

"You've _never_ been to school?" She asked, horrified. 

Varian squirmed in his seat. "Well you see," he explained, desperately trying to think of some way to salvage the situation, "there is a small school in the capital, but that's a good day's trip and Dad needed me to help around the far- uh, _estate_. Besides I already knew how to read and write by the time I was old enough to go." He gave a half smile at the end, hoping his advanced reading skills would be enough to impress her. 

"And how did you manage to learn advanced physics and engineering?" She asked in disbelief. 

"Well, I read books, and studied the masters, like Copernicus, and did a lot of experimentation on my own. A lot of trial and error." He said this last bit dryly, personally recalling some of his past failures. 

"Sooo you're completely self taught then?" She asked, still trying to make sense of this strange boy. 

Varian nodded his head. 

"Well, why don't we just put home-schooled on the application." She suddenly suggested with a wide smile and Varian internally sighed with relief with the knowledge that his past wasn't going to be held against him. 

"Now for some personal questions. Here at the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology, we pride ourselves on admitting the most dedicated and accomplished of students." Professor Granville proudly proclaimed. "Tell me what are some of your biggest accomplishments in the field of science?" 

"Uh…." Varian's brain froze. He had no real accomplishments. Everything he built either blew up, broke down, or worked in a way he hadn't originally intended.

"Come, come, no need to be shy." Granville encouraged. 

"Ummm…" 

The professor looked at him expectedly and Varian heard his heart pounding in his ears as his mind raced. 

"I invented a bath bomb!" He blurted out in haste. 

Professor Granville blinked back at him in surprise. "Well that wasn't what I was expecting," she said slowly,"but tell me about this 'bath bomb'." 

Varian wanted to sink into the ground. How stupid could he be? This world had everyday technology that was so far more advanced compared to Conora's that of course she wasn't going to be impressed by his makeshift cleaning supplies. But he had already said it out loud, might as well commit. 

"It's a small alchemical ball full of soap and hydrogen. So that when you throw it into a tub and ignite a flame underneath, it combines with the surrounding air to create condensation and voilà, instant bath." 

"Interesting," the woman said, and she did genuinely appear to be so as she adjusted her stance and leaned in a little with her arms upon the desk and hands clasped together. "And tell me what was the inspiration for this 'immediate bath'." 

"Well, umm, there isn't any running water in Corona and sometimes carrying water from the well or the river is a pain." Varian explained, then reflexively, under his breath and through gritted teeth, he added, "Or sometimes you might find yourself in a position where you can't bathe for over a year." 

He hadn't meant for this last part to be heard but Granville commented on it anyways. 

"You've been without running water for over a year?" She asked, concerned. 

"Oh, no. We've never had running water. It doesn't exist in our world." Varian corrected, hoping to distract from his previous comment. This however was not the correct thing to say as Professor Granville only furrowed her brow even further. 

For Granville's part, she was just simply bewildered and more than a little worried. When Hiro had first told her of the boy from another world, she had assumed he came from one similar to their own, or perhaps one that was even more advanced. She'd have never in a million years expected that the inventor of a portal device was from a world stuck before the pre-industrial era. Yet it all added up to appear that way; 17th century birthday, no running water, his biggest academic influence was _Copernicus_ for crying out loud. However was the boy to keep up with modern college level studies? And yet where else was he to go? 

So she pressed forward. Ignoring the growing doubt building in the back of her mind. 

"Where do you see yourself in five years?" She asked. 

She was met with only a blank stare from the young man sitting across from her. 

"For example, do you have any career aspirations or personal goals you would like to achieve?" She clarified. 

"Well, I'd like to go home and free my dad." The young boy said slowly. "I haven't given much thought to anything else?" 

"Free?" Granville asked, confused. 

"I mean, see again, obviously." Varian hastily rectified. But Granville was growing ever more concerned, the boy was hiding something. 

"Well I can understand why that would be a pressing matter to you, but surely you've given some thought to the future; some idea of where you might wind up." She encouraged him. 

"Jail?" The boy questioningly threw out there. He looked wide eyed now, confused and lost as to what she meant and looking for an answer that clearly alluded him. 

"And why would you say that, Mr. Quirinson?" She pressed.

"Cause that's where I've been for the past year." The boy admitted. He was growing agitated and impatient. He didn't understand the point behind any of this and was slowly getting fed up with the woman's prying questions. Not the least of which because they made him feel self conscious. 

"I see," the professor said as she began to piece together the clues. Granville had spent several years working in both academics and social services. She knew the signs of a 'problem' child when she saw it. Typically, young kids with unchallenged intellect, accompanied by perhaps a broken home life, would sometimes lash out or make trouble for themselves in an effort to receive attention. The boy's father was missing in some way and he grew up in an unstimulating environment that didn't encourage his creative genius. 

"And because of a mistake or two you don't see yourself rising up to doing anything else." she cajoled; sometimes a push could help inspire the aforementioned child to challenge himself. 

"No. Because they typically don't let you back out after you've committed high treason." He answered back bitterly. Headmaster or no, who did this woman think she was to make such sweeping judgements? He was properly angry now and no longer cared about making a good impression nor about keeping his past hidden. 

He quickly stood up and leaned over the desk to glower at her. "Look, I came here to get help not to be grilled about my past. If you're not interested in giving me the supplies I need then I'll find some other way to get them. But I am _not_ giving up on my father." He angrily pounded his fist on to the desk to emphasize his point. 

Then almost immediately his demeanor changed when he looked back up to see the blackboard behind the professor. "Also the answer to that equation should be 2.6 not 4.6. Sorry that's been bugging me for the past ten minutes." He apologetically stammered in exasperation. 

Professor Granville turned and looked back at the offending equation in question. Glad for a momentary distraction from the growing tension in the room. 

The boy's mood swings were bewilderingly quick and the 'treason' comment had not been something she had been expecting. If he really was from the 17th century then 'treason' could mean anything, to being locked away for scientific study or for simply knowing the wrong people. Given his comments about his father needing 'freeing' she suspected the latter. 

It was a long physics question with an answer provided, in order to serve as an example to the class. It was far too long to solve in one's head so she had to pull out a calculator and resubmit the numbers into the machine to check the boy's calculations. And to her surprise he was right. She had accidentally written the wrong number up on the board. 

"That...is correct." She replied double checking the calculator she held in her hand. "You figured out this whole equation in your head in less than ten minutes?" She asked in disbelief. Granville had worked with many gifted students throughout her career, but scarcely any could perform such advanced mathematical problem solving in such record time without the aid of any tools; not even basic pen and paper. And this was made all the more impressive by the fact the child lacked a high school education or even the passing knowledge of more modern mathematical advancements, like those of Einstein. 

"How else would you do it?" Varian replied, not knowing any other way himself.

"A calculator," She responded, holding the device into the air. 

"Wait. You have a machine that does _math_!?" The boy exclaimed in equal parts disbelief and excitement. 

She nodded and handed the calculator to him. Which he eagerly snatched up, looked at it longingly, and then cradled the device to his cheek while proclaiming,"It's so beautiful," in the exaggerated manner kids often do. He then began to fiddle with the machine, testing out its various functions like a child that had just received a new video game for Christmas. 

"Where has this been all my life?" He excitedly laughed. This device would make checking his calculations ten times easier. 

Granville watched on, bewildered. Who was this child? How did someone from such a primitive world managed to invent such a scientific miracle? In all her 40 years she had never come across such a contradiction before. Just imagine what such a child could have achieved had he been born in a time and place that nurtured his natural talents. 

Then she shuddered as realization hit her. A short range teleportation device was his original intent, Hiro had told her, and Varian himself had mentioned prison and not being let out. And not just any prison, they weren't talking about juvie here, but a 1650s style dungeon no doubt. History wasn't her expertise, but Granville knew enough about that time period to know that he wouldn't have been fairly treated while within there. No telling what horrors the boy had faced in the past year or more. 

Her heart went out to him then and she could have just cried at the thought of this little teenaged boy huddled up in some dark dank stone room. She pushed the image out of her head and regained control of herself. Crying wouldn't help. But giving him the opportunities that had been denied to him thus far would. 

"Let's return to the interview shall we?" She said instead, slipping back into the role of professional administrator and taking her seat again. 

Varian looked up from the calculator he was playing with in confusion. He had assumed his previous outburst would disqualify him but Professor Granville gave him no time to question. 

"Now Hiro has informed me that you are currently staying on campus with Mr. Gari, how is that working out?" 

"Mr. Gari?" He echoed blankly. 

"I believe you and the rest of his friends refer to him as 'Wasabi'." she clarified. 

"Oh, yeah, he's great. Things are going fine." He replied, still confused. 

"Wonderful," the professor smiled back. "In that case we'll keep that arrangement for the upcoming semester." 

"Whatd'ya mean?" 

"I _mean_ , Mr. Quirinson, welcome to SFIT." She said with a warm smile as she handed him a pre-typed acceptance letter that she had tucked inside the folder. 

Varian read the letter in bewilderment. He was being accepted into a university? _Him_? And not just any university, but one specifically for the study of science. He couldn't help but give a breathless laugh. He'd honestly never thought that he'd ever be given such a chance, especially after such a disastrous interview. But no, the woman at the desk seemed genuine in her approval. 

"Now if you'll just sign these forms you'll be granted a full four year scholarship, or until you finish, whichever comes first." She said as she slid the folder over to him and handed him her pen. 

He signed his name upon the dotted line as his stomach filled with giddy butterflies. It all hardly seemed real. His dad would never believe it. Oh how he wished he could run home, wrap him in a hug, and tell him right now. Surely something like this would make him so proud. 

He blinked back tears at that wishful thought and finished signing the other papers the professor handed to him. When done he looked back up at her and she said, "Good. Now because of your, unique, situation; there will be a few extra steps you'll have to complete before classes start next week. Which I'll talk to you about as I give you a tour of the facility."

With that she stood up and walked to the door and held it open, once again indicating for Varian to follow her. 

* * *

Varian stood outside next to the physics building where he had first started the day, waiting for Hiro to join him. He leaned against the wall while sucking on a small lollipop the school’s nurse had given him. Professor Granville had given him a quick tour of the school, a folder full of important papers, and instructions for how to proceed with his education. The final stop was the medical office where she had left him with the nurse in order to attend to other business. 

Said nurse had given him the ‘vaccines’ that Wasabi had told him about; the near magical medicine that was supposed to prevent certain illnesses. The shots had stung a bit, but it was all over very quickly and the kind woman who administered the procedure gave him some colorful sticky bandages and let him pick his favorite flavor out of the bowl full of suckers sitting on her desk. 

He was just finishing off the last of the butterscotch flavored treat when Hiro finally found him. 

“Hey! There you are! How did it go?” He asked. 

“Well, she admitted me into the school but she said I had to do some stuff first before she could fully enroll me.” Varian replied. 

“Yeah, what kind of stuff?” 

“I have to take something called a ‘General Educational Development’ test and a ‘Scholastic Aptitude Test’. She gave me a study guide and was going to give me both tests on Friday.”

“Ah.. yeah, you wouldn’t have an eligible high school diploma here. But it’s fine. I took similar tests in order to graduate early. They’re not that hard, the only thing that should trip you up is the history stuff, but we can all help you study for them.’ The young boy offered. 

Varian smiled back at him appreciatively. It was nice to know that he now had people in his life that he could depend upon for help. 

“So what else?” Hiro asked. 

“She also gave me an extended reading list. I don’t have to read every book on there in a week, thank goodness, but I’m to keep up with it for the rest of the school term so I can catch up on things that the rest of the students will already know. I also need to give her a ‘photograph’ of myself that she can put onto a passport and something called a ‘visa’.” Varian scratched the back of his head in confusion as he said this last bit. Apparently one needed lots of documents and forms in order to maneuver within this country's society. Granville had asked him all of those questions at the beginning of his interview precisely because she was going to help procure those official papers for him, or forge similar facsimiles that could do in a pinch. 

Hiro nodded along. “That makes sense. See it’s a good thing you met with her. Granville has connections that can help with things like that. Also she’s the only one who even thought of it to begin with.” He laughed. “Man, that would’ve been bad if someone like Chief Cruz found out you were here illegally. Anyways, you can take the ‘photograph’ using your new phone. I’ll help and show you how to email it to her. Wasabi set you up with an e-mail right?” 

Varian nodded yes. That was one of the functions of the internet that Wasabi had shown him yesterday. 

“Great! I’ll also email you the stuff I found on Project Silent Sparrow. It’s the portal project that Krei Tech was working on.” 

So Hiro spent the rest of the day with him, with Baymax also tagging along, and together they helped Varian take his picture and send it to Professor Granville, gather up some of the books on the reading list from the library, did a little bit of studying for the tests while there, and briefly went over the project files behind the portal that sent him here. 

After Hiro and Baymax had decided to go home Varian made his way back to the dormitory. He couldn’t wait to tell Wasabi all that had happened. However as soon as he opened the door he was met with the sight of Wasabi chasing Ruddiger around the apartment with a broom. Food, slimy shampoo, and various other items were strewn about the place and Wasabi was covered in soap bubbles while Ruddiger himself was sopping wet. Varian sighed and closed the door behind him. Looks like telling about his day would have to wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The BH6 movie was released in 2014 and the show immediately picks up from there. Two semesters have pasted since then so it would be 2015 in universe.


	6. The Beach

Saturday had come and Varian and the rest of his new friends were all crowded in Wasabi's car. Wasabi had precisely had enough room to fit six people, though perhaps a bit uncomfortably. He and Varian rode in the front seat, with Varian carrying Ruddiger in his carrying cage, while Hiro, Gogo, Honey Lemon, and Fred were squished together in the back seat. The robot, Baymax, was folded up inside his battery pack and tucked away in the trunk to make room. 

Apparently today was a holiday and they were all heading to the beach. Well in truth the actual holiday was on Monday, but Americans spent the whole weekend in celebration. Said holiday was called Memorial Day and was meant to honor warriors who fell in battle. However, despite this somber origin, most considered the weekend to be the official start of summer and would mark the occasion with picnics, parties, and public swimming. 

For Varian and his friends though, this was the end of spring break. Starting on Tuesday, the university they now all attended would open back up and the summer semester would begin. The thought of which sent Varian's stomach churning with butterflies. He'd never been to school before and didn't know what to expect. He was filled with nervous excitement and to calm his nerves he looked out the car window to admire the scenery.

He'd been in this strange new world for a week now but he'd had little chance to admire it. For the past five days he'd been busy studying for his entrance exams for college. Passing the 'graduation' test in particular was important for gaining admittance into the school and Varain had to do some serious cramming to prepare for it. Squeezing twelve years worth of educational knowledge into his brain in less than a week. 

Fortunately Varain was very good at memorizing facts and all his new friends were on hand to help him. On Monday, Hiro had helped him gather up the study materials he'd needed and told him what to expect. Wasabi gave him practice tests throughout the week and helped him pinpoint the areas he was weakest in. He was pretty good with math and grasped most of the science quickly, with Wasabi being on hand to fill in the gaps, but he needed help in other less familiar subjects. 

Gogo had swung by on Tuesday and spent the whole day giving Varian a crash course in Social Studies, which was a combination of history, geography, and civics. 

Varian took a special interest in American's founding and it's chosen form of government, which was unlike anything he had heard of before. They had no king nor royalty of any kind. In fact the country was founded by people who committed treason and fought a war to overthrow their ruler, and who then put into place a democracy made up of elected representatives instead. It most closely resembled the government of ancient Rome, before Julius Caesar had taken over, but was expanded upon to encompass a vast kingdom, larger than even most empires. 

Varain had already thought San Fansokyo was an impressively large city, but was completely flabbergasted to know that not only was it not the largest city in the country, it wasn't even the biggest within its own providence; and there were fifty of these states that stretched across the continent from coast to coast with similarly massive metropolises in each. 

It was mind boggling and it took him sometime to wrap his brain around the concept. And that was just the tip of the iceberg, he also had to catch up with some four hundred odd years worth of world events on top of that. But Gogo was a patient teacher and she carefully broke down everything into manageable chunks, giving him timelines, charts, and maps for him to refer back to. By the end of the day he had perhaps learned more in those eight hours spent with her than he had in his whole sixteen years. 

On Wednesday, Fred had showed up to help Varian practice for the writing portion of the tests. He would have to complete two essays on any given subject for each of the two exams. Fred himself had actually completed one of the same tests, the S.A.T, just a few months ago and knew what the graders were looking for when it came to such essays. 

Mainly, they just wanted to know if Varian could follow the basic guidelines of writing; paragraphs and sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and his overall ability to form an argument on paper. All things Varian felt pretty comfortable with, but it was nevertheless a good refresher of those basics. Essay writing and thesis statements were apparently expected of any student attending higher education and he would have to write many during the course of his studies. 

Thursday, Honey Lemon stopped by to help Varian with Language Arts. Both tests would cover reading comprehension and even more grammar. Once again Varian was pretty comfortable with those two subjects, especially given the writing practice from the day before, and so they finished pretty quickly. Even with Honey Lemon adding in extra information about various important books and plays that had been written in the past four centuries, just in case any of them made it into the reading part of the exam. Though Shakespeare was still deemed the most influential even in this modern age. A fact which disappointed Varian; he personally thought Marlowe to be superior to the bard. 

"You don't even like Romeo and Juliet?" Honey Lemon asked aghast, "But it's sooo romantic." 

"But it's sooo stupid," Varian mockingly admonished with a laugh. Which in turn made Honey Lemon give him a not-so-serious pout. 

"Look, what was stopping them from just leaving together in the first place?" Varian explained his point. 

Honey Lemon opened her mouth to retort back but just as soon closed it again; she had never considered that question before. She screwed up her mouth in thought as she searched for a better answer. 

"Weeelll, sometimes it's hard to leave the only home you've ever known. Isn't that why you want to get back to your world?" She asked him.

Varian just stared at her for a moment, thinking of an answer to give that didn't allow him to explain his past in detail. Finally he said, "I wanna get back because my dad is there. I couldn’t care less about Corona itself." 

"You don't care at all?"

"It's just a bunch of buildings." He mumbled with a shrug, then he added, more assuredly, "What matters is the people in your life." 

"I guess," She replied, "all I know is that I had a hard enough time just leaving Sacramento. Even though it's only an hour and a half away and I can still see my family whenever. I can't imagine what it's like to be lost in a whole other world." 

Varian ignored her attempts to sympathize, not because he didn't appreciate the effort, but because he was ready to move on from the conversation. Instead he shut his eyes tightly and tilted his head back, trying to recall some of the new information he had recently learned. "Sacramento; that's the capital of California, right?" 

"Yeah. But don't worry, no one actually memorizes all fifty states and their capitals. I only know like twenty or so." She admitted.

"Oh, good." Varian breathed in relief. Soon both he and Honey Lemon were just giggling, happy to relieve the tension in the room.

"Oooh, you know what? I brought my make-up bag with me!" Honey Lemon suddenly exclaimed, and just like that all previous talk about literature and writing gave away to other subjects, mostly chemistry.

Honey Lemon made her own cosmetics. It was a passion of hers to find new, safe, and 'biodegradable' chemical compounds to replace some of the more toxic stuff on the market. 

"And absolutely _no_ animal testing." She added in all seriousness. 

She even sold her wares over the internet, shipping them to customers as they ordered them, as a means of making money on the side. 

She poured out the contents of a rather large tote bag onto the floor and walked Varain through each item, what it was for, and how she had made it. Varian listened intently and even tried some of the stuff himself. 

He found he didn’t care much for lipstick nor cakey foundation, the texture was off putting to him. He also didn’t like anything with a heavy perfume. However he did like the eyeliner and the black fingernail polish he had previously bought. He was still fascinated by the concept of synthesized polymers. 

They were both sitting on the floor, makeup strewn everywhere, laughing over nothing in particular, when Wasabi came home from his part time job. Honey Lemon was in the middle of applying mascara to Varian’s eyes and he was trying his best not to blink but failing at it, which only sent both of them into more fits of giggles. Meanwhile, unnoticed by them both, Ruddgier had gotten into the powered blush and was making a mess in another corner of the room.

“I thought you two were studying.” Wasabi said with a hint of annoyance to his voice. He was tired from work and none too happy to find makeup scattered about his dorm room. 

“Sorry,” Honey Lemon tried to say through her laughter, “but we finished early and I’d promise to teach Varian how to paint his nails.” Varian held up his hand to show Wasabi his newly painted nails as a way of response. 

“That’s nice.” Wasabi replied back in a sarcastic tone. “Did you also teach the raccoon how to put on foundation?” 

That’s when they both finally noticed Ruddiger. Varian got onto his pet and went to clean up the mess, effectively ending the study/make-up session. 

The next day, Wasabi gave him two final practice tests and then it was time for him to take the real thing. He met Professor Granville at the school and, alongside a few other hopeful students, took the two tests. 

The first test, the S.A.T., went smoothly, but he wouldn’t know his actual scores until his answer sheet and essay were sent off to be graded. The graduation test however was taken over the computer and it took several hours to complete with a few breaks between parts. He felt he could have finished sooner had he had the chance to take the test using a pencil and paper instead, as he found the mouse and keyboard awkward. But the positive thing about using the new technology was that he got his scores back sooner. He managed to pass all the parts, even with him just barely scraping by on the Social Studies section. His official certification would come in the mail, the professor told him, but for all intents and purposes he now had a high school diploma. 

Which was a apparently a big deal in this world. Earning a diploma was considered to be something of a rite of passage. Obtaining one meant you were ready to start entering the adult world and with it you could gain full time employment or seek higher education, like college. According to his friends, he should’ve been extra proud of this accomplishment since gaining a high school diploma at his age, while not unheard of, was unusual, and he had done it in less than a week when most took years to achieve it. 

To signify just how important this was, all his new friends threw him a party at the Lucky Cat. Even Aunt Cass had pitched in and made him a special dinner. It was something called ‘sushi’ and she typically prepared it for celebrations like this one; having cooked similar dinners for both Tadashi and Hiro when they had graduated high school as well. 

Varian was appreciative of her efforts, though he didn’t quite know what to make of the food itself. The ‘sushi’ consisted mostly of rice topped with raw fish wrapped in seaweed. The taste wasn’t bad but the texture of the uncooked seafood was weird to Varian. Fortunately, not everything was raw. There were different kinds to be had and Varian was able to pick out some that he did enjoy; ones stuffed with crab, egg, or just veggies. He especially liked the ‘dessert sushi’ made with tropical fruit.

He’d just finished recalling last night, when Wasabi loudly proclaimed, ‘We’re here!” 

There were whoops and joyous yells in response from the various passengers and Varian looked out the front windshield to see the familiar blue streak that was the ocean just up ahead. Wasabi parked the car in the designated parking lot and then they all piled out of said vehicle and made their way down to the beachfront. 

The sandy beach was tucked in between two rocky cliffs and you had to walk down a wooden stairway to get to it. As he made his way down the stairwell, Varian could look out and see the expanse of dark blue ocean and lighter blue sky go on forever. It didn't look much different from Corona's coast. What did look different were the inhabitants. Corona's coastline was usually deserted save for the ports and the occasional fishing boat off in the distance, but here the beach was a mass of half naked bodies and swarms of vacationers enjoying the summer sun. Spread out along the sandy tolls were towels, blankets, folding chairs, and umbrellas of all sizes with scantily clad people lounging upon or underneath. 

Varian tried to remember Gogo's words from a week ago, about how this was deemed normal and not to bring himself to attention by starring. But everywhere Varian looked he was met with the sight of a lovely lady's long legs or a handsome lad's toned chest. Not looking was very much like asking a small child in a pastry shop to hold their nose and ignore the sweet smells of pies and cakes surrounding them. Fortunately, he was able to keep his composure long enough for them to reach the shore and find a spot to set up camp for the day; managing not to hold his gaze for too long on any one person or thing. 

They had brought a variety of towels and folding chairs of their own, along with a large parasol and ice chest full of food and drink for the day. Varian and Wasabi had spent that morning making sandwiches for everyone; tuna fish salad, sliced cucumbers with butter, jam mixed with a spread made from ground nuts, and some sort of mystery meat called 'baloney' paired with cheese. Varian couldn't figure out if said baloney was made from ham or chicken, as it didn't really taste like either, though it also didn't taste bad per-say. They also stored small bags of crispy fried snacks called 'potato chips', individually wrapped mini cakes called 'debbies', and bottles of some sort of fizzy drink called 'soda' in the chest as well. Varian found the carbonated sugary drink to be odd but surprisingly tasty. 

While everyone was setting up Hiro unpacked Baymax from his portable charger, the robot inflated to full size again before stepping out, and Varian released Ruddiger from his carrier. The raccoon was grateful to be let out of the small cage at last and promptly snuggled up on one of the folding chairs under the sun to catnap. Varian didn't think the leash necessary as there really wasn't any place for his pet to run off to. 

Once done with setting up, the gang then proceeded to unpack the various toys and games they had brought along as well. There was a game you played with a net, like tennis, only you used your hands to pass a 'volleyball' over said net instead of a racket and you didn't want the larger ball to touch the ground at any point. They also brought a flat discus called a 'frisbee' which you threw to person to person. Gogo had with her a flat wooden board used to ride the waves that broke along the shore. Which she let Varian and her other friends try out for themselves. 

Varian however was not very good at any of these new sports. While he was fairly athletic, capable of running, climbing, and whatnot, he had never been the best at coordination. More often than not he'd simply trip and fall in his efforts to keep up with the ball or maintain his balance on the surfboard. 

Instead Varian found himself wandering off occasionally to try and strike up conversations with new people. He'd hadn't had a lot of social interaction while growing up, especially with others his age, and he wanted some practice before he started school in a few days. Hopefully to ease the awkwardness of being dumped in a world that he knew next to nothing about. 

However every time he'd smile at a pretty girl or made eye contact with a cute boy his age, his efforts to make small talk were sabotaged by some mishap or other. Either his own clumsiness would get in the way or he'd put his foot in mouth, as the saying goes. Fortunately, his embarrassing failures at flirting would be followed by one of his new friends trying to engage him with some other activity so he was never left alone with his awkwardness for long. 

Swimming, sand castle building, more games; like 'chicken', where you tried to push one person off another person's shoulders into the water, or 'Marco Polo' where one person had to find the others with their eyes closed, using the ancient explorer's name as a call and response, digging for seashells, and other similar actives were to be had to pass the time away. 

Finally, the sun started to hang low in the sky and they all headed back to the car. They were wet, tired and covered in sand. They tried to knock the irritating substance off their shoes and things before all squeezing back into the ill fitting vehicle in order to head back home. They all sat on towels so as not to get the seats wet and their bathing suits and cover up clothes all clung to them dripping sea water. 

Varian sat again in the front seat, only this time Honey Lemon had asked to hold Ruddiger on the ride back. She, Gogo, Fred, and Hiro were all fast asleep in the backseat with Baymax once again tucked away in his battery case. Wasabi had the radio on in order to keep himself awake as he drove (and to drown out Honey Lemon's snoring if he was being honest). The music that filtered out of the speakers was called 'classical' music, which just meant it mostly orchestral music from ages past. To Varian it sounded very modern and sophisticated to his ears, like chamber music played for royal courts, not the more rustic folk music he grew up on. 

Right now a gentle suite with piano and strings was playing and it along with the steady motion of the car moving was beginning to lull Varian to sleep as well. He looked out again at the houses and scenery that passed by and thought of the day's events and the fun he had had as his eyes grew heavy. This world was so much more inviting and nicer than his own, it was a shame he'd have to leave it soon, but his Dad needed him and that was that. And with that final resolve Varian drifted off to dreamland. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise this story will have more than just Honey Lemon and Wasabi interactions, but that make-up scene was too cute to pass up and it fit best here.


	7. Stories

Varian sat in the spacious den surrounded by piles and piles of books; comic books to be specific. Today was the last day of spring break and Varian was visiting Fred. All of their other friends were busy preparing for tomorrow, but Fred didn’t go to any of the actual classes. He only worked part time as the school’s mascot, so he had the day free and wanted to teach Varian more about his hobby. 

Varian, for his part, was simply bored. He had agreed to meet with Fred since he had spent so much of the last week studying and wanted a break before starting classes for real, but the pages of illustrated stories, about people with god like powers, just didn’t really interest him. 

It made him feel a little guilty really. Fred was so passionate about his interest, much like how Varian enjoyed science, and Varian appreciated that the older teen cared enough to try and include him in that. However, it didn’t stop him from zoning out while Fred rambled on about yet another story or character that Varian had no reference for. 

He looked about the room with lidded eyes as he rested his face upon his fist. Fred lived in a large mansion. It wasn’t quite as big as Corona’s palace, nor even the size of the castle he grew up in, but it was still very grand and luxurious. Various memorabilia and expensive decor were scattered about and the room he was in now had a tons of unique statues, toys, and posters on display referencing various things within pop culture. He assumed they would make for an impressive collection, if he knew what any of them actually were. 

“….and so that is how Captain Fancy teamed up with the Fearless Ferret!" 

Varian tuned back in just in time to hear Fred conclude his story. 

"Oh, yeah, yeah, that’s real interesting” Varian yawned and stretched as he said this giving away his true feelings on the matter. Then he tried to course correct as soon as he did so. 

“Look, Fred, this is all…great, but wouldn’t be better if I just, you know, actually read the stories for myself?” He gently suggested. 

“Oh, yeah…I guess I kind of got carried away.” Fred admitted sheepishly. “Ok, then, what did you think about the comics that you’ve read already?” He sat down, facing backwards, upon a swivel office chair as he referred to the two comics that he had bought for Varian on his first day in San Fansokyo. 

“They were fine.” Varian said. 

Fred leaned in closer, waiting for more but Varian didn’t elaborate. 

“ _Fine?_ Just fine? You don’t got anything else to add?”

Varian could only shrug in response. He didn’t know what else to say. They were okay stories but not anything to get excited over. They were certainly no Flynn Rider, that was for sure. 

“Well what about Miracle Maiden? What did you think of her?" 

That was one of the superheroes from the comic he had read. She was a princess from the deep Amazon rain-forest who took an ancient magic spear and armor and traveled from her home to fight against those that wanted to destroy it, helping others along the way. 

"Well, she was neat, I guess.” Varian admitted. “I liked how she was also figuring out how the world worked since she’d never left home before. That made her kind of relatable, I just didn’t care for the magic armor giving her super strength. It made her too unbeatable, no one was a real threat; there was no tension." 

Fred tilted his head in confusion. He’d never considered that to be a flaw. Superheroes were suppose to be well, _super,_ after all. 

"Oookay, so maybe OP golden age style comics aren’t your thing.” Fred consented, “What about the dark aged comic you read, ‘The Avenger’?" 

"Oh, I liked that one a lot better. The hero in that had to really struggle and figure stuff out. He didn’t have any powers and the villains were more believable." 

"I’d call him more of an anti-hero,” Fred interrupted, “but go on." 

The story in question concerned an ex-soldier whose family had been murdered by a rich and power man. The villain had used his influence to escape prison and so 'The Avenger’, as he called himself, sought vengeance and along the way helped other poor exploited people get their own revenge against similar oppressors. 

"He was relatable too, but in a different way. I just thought the pictures were a little too…graphic.” Varian grimaced as he said that last word. He had always disliked the sight of blood and while the images in the book had only been drawings, they nevertheless were still very in-your-face with the violence and somewhat disturbing to look at. He hadn’t been able to get through the comic without skipping some pages.

“You, found a guy, who kills a whole bunch of people, relatable?” Fred asked slowly, trying to piece together what Varian had seen that he had not. 

“Well, he lost his family.” Varian said in his defense. 

“Yeeeah, but that just makes him sympathetic. In order for him to be relatable you’d also have to have lost … your… ” Fred paused in mid-sentence and looked at the young boy sitting across from himself. Varian held an unreadable expression, something between a pout and a confused glare, and something inside Fred warned him not to continue with that thought. 

“Aaaannyways,” Fred said trying to change the subject, “you like non-super powered heroes, but no gore, so why don’t I lend you one if my Fearless Ferret comics.” And with that the blonde teen hopped up off the chair and went scrounging about the room in search of said comic. 

As he was throwing various comics and toys around in his quest, Fred tossed a small hardback novel that landed right at Varian’s feet. He had to move them out the way quickly before the flying object could do any harm. He looked down at the offending book rudely, but then his breath caught in his throat at what he saw. 

The novel was battered and worn from years of use and the title read The Brothers Grimm on the side. But what caught Varian’s attention was the cover on its front. It bore the image of a girl in a crumbling tower. She sat at the only window forlornly looking out as her long golden hair tumbled down to the ground below. 

“Rapunzel.” Varian breathed. 

“What?” Fred stopped what he was doing at the sound, but Varian had whispered too low for him to hear it clearly. 

“What is this?” Varian asked frantically. His heart pounding in his chest he held up the book for Fred to see. 

“Oh that? That’s just an old book of fairy tales I read as a kid." 

"Fairy tales?" 

"Yeah, you know, old folk tales, like Little Red Riding Hood, Rumpelstiltskin, Hansel and Gretel,” Fred turned back to his original search as he absentmindedly listed off the stories he knew, “The Bremen Town Musicians, Rapunzel, that sort of thing." 

Varian’s eyes went wide at that last title and he torn open the book and desperately flipped through its pages until he found the accursed name. It was printed in big bold letters at the top of the page and underneath was the story itself printed in smaller type. On the opposite page was another illustration. This one featuring the titled character using her hair like a rope as a man used it to scale the tower. They were both dressed in clothing from centuries past that would have been considered old fashioned even in Varian’s own time. 

Varian just stared at the page for a minute or two as his brain tried to comprehend what he was seeing. 

"This, this can’t be.” He whispered to himself, “How is this here? _Why_ is this here?” He grew increasingly louder as his confusion gave away to anger. “How come _she_ gets a story!?" 

He jumped up from the couch he was sitting upon as he yelled this last question, which finally drew Fred’s attention away from his rummaging. 

"You ok dude?" 

"No, I’m not okay! That no-good, lying, boil-brained, misbegotten, dizzy-eyed, _promise breaker_ has been immortalized in print!” He yelled before glancing back down at the book he was holding,“And they didn’t even get the story right!” He whined after. 

Fred could only look on in confusion as Varian launched into another rant. This one about the inaccuracies within the folk tale as he sped read through the story; “Where’s the flower? Where are the rocks? Ha! I wish the King knew he was portrayed as a dirty thief. Eugene’s not a prince! Ew, I don’t why but having your eyes gouged out sounds worse than getting stabbed. Does Rapunzel not have powers in this?”

As he was busy loudly complaining, a viewing screen up on the opposite wall turned on and the image of an old man appeared. He had slicked backed white hair, a white mustache, and his eyes were covered by sunglasses. 

“Is everything alright son?” The man queried. “I thought I heard the sound of someone shouting an evil monologue over the surveillance system?" 

"Oh hey, Dad!” Fred turned to addressed the viewing screen while Varian continued on, heedless of who was listening or not, “It’s okay. It’s just my new friend Varian here is apparently really passionate about fairy tales." 

"Really? Cause he sounds like a super-villain to me.”

“Aww naw, you got it all wrong he’s just upset cause he doesn’t like the story.” As if to prove this, Fred turned back to Varian interrupting him mid-rant.“Hey, Varian, why do you hate Rapunzel so much?" 

Varian stopped and turned to them. His eyes narrowed into a intense glare and his voice dropped to low guttural growl. 

"She is my mortal enemy.” He said darkly. 

He held their gaze for a moment or two in uneasy silence, before once again noticing yet another inaccuracy upon the page. “Oh, that’s not right!” and he launched into a new wave of angry ranting. 

As he went on, outraged, father and son could only look on in perturbed confusion. 

“Are you sure he’s not a super-villain?” Mr. Fredrickson asked, neither of them being able to tear their eyes away from the sight of the small raged filled teen. 

“Preeety sure…” his son replied in a tone of voice that conveyed that he was anything but. 

Fred continued to watch Varian raving as his brain tried to process what had just happened.

“Waaait a minute, if you know the real Rapunzel, then that must mean you’re from a world of fairy tales.” He slowly said as he pieced together the clues. “Which means there’s must be magic and if there’s magic then there must be..” Fred audibly gasped with joy and ran to Varian, grabbing the younger boy by the shoulders and snapping him out of mid-rant. 

_“Do have dragons in your world!?"_

Varian could only look back at Fred with surprise and disgust at first. It wasn’t until he had gathered his wits was he able to answer. "What? No!” he irritability snapped back. 

Here he was, in the middle of having an existential crisis, and all his friend could do was ask about mythical creatures? 

“There’s no such thing as dragons.” He firmly added before Fred could protest. The older teen looked crestfallen but soon perked back up as he started in on a new line of questioning. 

“But there is magic, right?" 

"Unfortunately, yes.” Varian said through gritted teeth. 

“Are you magic then?” Fred asked, as he circled around Varian and pick up his arm by its sleeve and inspected the length of it. 

“No.” Varian answered, now disturbed. 

“Then how come you got that blue streak in your hair? Do all people from your world have that?" 

Varian looked up at his bangs and then quickly covered said streak with his free hand. "No.” He said, this time less assured. 

In truth he didn’t know where his defining blue hair stripe came from. He had had it for as long as he could remember, and had always assumed he got it in a alchemy accident when young. But he didn’t know for sure, and he didn’t like to dwell too much on the subject. 

“Oh do know anyone who has magic, then? Like do you know any other fairy tale people, like Red Riding Hood or Mother Goose? Oh Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk was always one of my favorites!” Fred pressed on. 

**“No!"**

Fred backed away at the sudden ferociously in Varian’s voice. 

"My life’s _not_ a fairy tale Fred!” Varian added just to drive the point home. 

“Sorry, man.” Fred said timidly. He hadn’t meant to upset the younger teen, but he knew he could sometimes get carried away. 

Varian’s anger all but disappeared at that admission. Fred looked genuinely upset and he suddenly felt guilty for his outburst. It wasn’t his new friend’s fault for not knowing what hell his life had been for the last two years. 

“Look, I’m…I’m sorry too, it’s just…I _hate_ magic. Okay?” He tried to explain.

Fred looked thoughtful at that, as if he had never considered that point of view before. 

“Well, if you hate magic…Oh I bet you would love science fiction then!” He exclaimed. 

Varian looked bewildered at the sudden change in subject, but Fred continued on excitedly. 

“We should watch the greatest sci-fi show ever!” Fred ran over to a shelf and pulled off a small thin case and held it up for Varian to see, “Professor What!" 

"What?” Varian asked, still confused.

“Exactly! It’s about a mysterious professor, who’s really a shape-shifting alien, who has a time machine that’s also a spaceship and he fights other aliens and…”

“Okay, okay” Varian interrupted. He agreed to go along with Fred’s idea if nothing else than to stop the older teen from launching into yet another confusing ramble. 

Fred flashed Varian a wide grin at that and then bid his father goodbye before opening the case and inserting a small shiny disc into the viewer screen. He then dimmed the lights and both he and Varian settled down on the couch to watch the video. 

“We’ll just watch the first episode and then go from there.” He said to Varian as odd sounding music filtered through the air and the opening titles flashed before them on the screen. 

But Varian wasn’t paying much attention. His mind raced as he was still agitated by the existence of the book. He couldn’t explain it. It wasn’t even a case of being an alternate version of Rapunzel herself. Fred had acted like the whole story was simply just made up. As if _he_ himself was nothing but fiction. What’s more the story hadn’t mention him, his father, nor the rocks and he didn’t know if this made the situation better or worse. 

He took a steadying breath and tried to focus on the screen ahead of him, shoving any uncomfortable questions to the back of his mind. 

The tv show was more of the moving pictures he had seen on the internet. Only this looked to be a recording of a staged play instead of the simple funny shorts of animals that he had only seen thus far. There was also no color, which Fred explained was because the film was so old. 

The story of the play concerned two school teachers, Cliff and Lola, who followed their new mysterious student home one day, only to stumble upon a bigger mystery. The student, Sue, reminded him of himself. She was super smart but ignorant of what was, to the teachers, common knowledge and it was no surprise when it was revealed that both she and her equally mysterious grandfather, the titular Professor, were from another world. What was a surprise was the way they traveled. 

The two teachers forced their way into a small box, no bigger than a magician’s cabinet, only to find a larger room on the inside. Said box was called a phone booth, which used to be used by people before cell phones came about, but the inside was called a STARDIS, a Space, Time, And Relative Dimensions Imperial Ship.

“You mean to tell me that a thing that looks like a phone booth, sitting in the middle of a scrapheap, can travel anywhere through time and space?” He heard the science teacher, Cliff, say incredulously before the impish Professor mischievously pressed a button on the console of the machine, locking the doors and turning the ship on. 

A swirl of stars and flashing lights appeared on screen, and like a magic trick, the box was no longer in a junkyard but an icy desert. A looming shadow then appeared and the screen cut to black as the odd music from before started to play and names flew up on the screen. 

“What, what happened? Why did it stop?” Varian asked Fred. He was just starting to get interested when it had ended. 

“Oh that was only the first episode, you gotta watch multiple in order to get the whole story." 

"You mean like chapters in a book? Can, can we watch the next one?" 

"You mean you like it?” Fred asked delighted. 

“Well I don’t dislike it, besides I’d at least like to what that shadow was.” Varian admitted. 

So they watched the next three parts. The group of time travelers had been transported to an ancient era, back when man still lived in caves. They were captured by a tribe and forced to make fire for them, all the while being caught in the middle of an ongoing power struggle for leadership. Varian didn’t find the politics of the cavemen particularly interesting but he did find himself on the edge of his seat whenever the STARDIS crew were on screen. 

He found them all compelling. The shifty Professor and his grey morals, doing whatever he could to survive and keep his granddaughter safe; Sue’s own fear of being separated from her only family and her mysterious ability for premonitions; Lola’s homesickness and exasperation at being cut off from civilization paired with her compassion for all living beings, even her oppressors; and the noble hero Cliff holding the team together while adhering to science and logic even while having his entire world view challenged.

On the last part they finally escaped the violent cavemen and made it back to the ship. They quickly took off, only to land on another planet entirely. The screen hovered over the console and a dial on the dashboard dropped down into the danger zone indicating all was not well before once again cutting to black and playing the ending credits. 

“Welp, that’s it!” Fred cheered. He stood up and stretched and went to take the disc out and put it up. 

“That’s it!?” Varian asked disbelievingly. “But what about that new planet and the dial? Do Cliff and Lola ever get home? How was Sue able to sense that her grandfather was in trouble? Also why is he only called the Professor? Does he not have name? Where did he get the ship? Did he build it? Is he a scientist too like Cliff is?” The questions tumbled out of him in a jumble. He had never seen anything like it before and couldn’t remember being so excited to find out more since the time he read his first Flynn Rider book.

Fred laughed, “So you do like it! Don’t worry there’s more episodes, just that’s the end of that particular serial. The next one is a seven parter though, and you got school tomorrow, remember?" 

Varian did remember and his stomach did a little flip flop at the thought. 

"I tell you what though,” Fred continued, “I’ve always wanted to do a marathon of the whole show in order. If you’re still interested we could maybe meet up sometimes watch it together?" 

Varian had never had a project that he could do with a friend before, nor someone to share his love of stories with, so the idea appealed to him. Therefore it was agreed; sometime next week they would meet up to watch the next serial and then possibly one day every week after that to watch the rest. 

So the day ended with Fred dropping Varian back off at the dorms and with him organizing his things for his first day of school. His excitement for tomorrow driving away any more thoughts of comics, tv shows, or fairy tales. Stories were fun, but none compared to the weirdness of his actual life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So BH6 takes place in an alternate dimension and ergo I've tried to stay true with that by parodying licensed or pop culture things. However the older or more obscured the thing in question the less likely I'll replace it.  
> -Captain Fancy is from the show itself and is a Superman parody  
> -The Fearless Ferret is a fictional superhero from Kim Possible, another show that the the creators of the BH6 series worked on. He's an old Batman parody  
> \- Miracle Maiden and The Avenger are my own creations and are stand ins for Wonder Woman and The Punisher respectively  
> \- Professor What is just Doctor Who with some cosmetic changes. I want to give Varian a hobby/interest to share with each of the gang individually.


	8. The First Day of School

Today was the first day of school and Hiro had volunteered to show Varian around. Their other friends all had earlier classes than Hiro and would join up with them later, but for now it was just the two boys. 

While he had received a quick tour with Professor Granville last week, there were still more things that Hiro had to walk Varian through. Like, picking up his schedule, getting him his student ID, showing him where his individual classes were, walking him through the ends and outs of campus life that only students knew or understood; such as the best places to study or which grumpy teacher to avoid. 

"And this is the Quad." Hiro explained as they walked across a large open field towards a short bridge with a stream running underneath, "Students like to come out here and study or test their inventions. It's usually more crowded than it is. I guess ‘cause it's the summer semester. That’s the robotics building over there and this….this is the new exhibition hall." 

Hiro’s voice became more hesitant as they stopped in front of a building with tall windows surrounded by a small pond that the stream ran into. As Varian surveyed the site, Hiro continued on, trying to ignore the bad memories that wanted to float to the top of his mind. 

“Here you’ll present your final projects and such.” 

Varian walked forward to get a better look, but stopped to peer at a marble block that stood in front of the building. There was an inscription carved into the stone and Hiro’s heart dropped as he knew what was coming next. 

“The San Fransokyo Institute of Technology: Exhibition Hall. This building is dedicated to the memory of Tadashi Hamada, a true hero.” Varian read out-loud in a disquieted voice. He turned to look questioningly at Hiro. 

Hiro heaved a heavy sigh and walked over to join his new friend, never taking his own eyes off of the memorial. He hadn’t had to recount how his brother had died before now. It was just common knowledge to anyone remotely familiar with the school. The event had made the all the local news channels at the time and Tadashi had become a legend among the faculty and student body. Hiro still heard hushed whispers from time to time from other classmates when he was around. They were the usual mix of pity and platitudes. He tried to ignore them as best as he could. 

“There was a fire.” He said slowly, trying to find the words without crying. “Tadashi ran back in to try and save someone...he.. didn’t make it back out.” His voice shook at that last confession, but he somehow managed to keep his composure. He then waited for Varian to go through the usual motions most everyone did; the apologies, the prying questions, the trite aphorisms, the unhelpful but well meaning advice, and sometimes a ‘what can I do?” as if anything could be done. 

But Varian didn’t do any of this. He simply stared at the block of stone as if deep in thought. Then after a while, still without looking at Hiro, he asked, “Did he save them?” 

Hiro looked back at him surprised. He hadn’t expected that response. When he didn’t answer immediately, Varian finally met his eyes and then rephrased the question. “Did he save the person he went back in for?” 

Hiro only stared back at the other boy, stunned. He tried to work his mouth but no sound would come out. How could he explain?

“No.” He eventually said “ Turns out they didn’t even need saving.” Hiro could have laughed at the irony of that statement if not for the stabbing pain in his chest. 

“The guy he went back in to save, was the one who started the fire in the first place.” The bitterness in his voice hung in the air like a dead weight. Once again he waited for Varian to respond to this revelation, but the boy only turned back to looking at the marble inscription; his lower jaw jutted out in thought as his eyes scanned the words again. 

The silence between the two of them was oppressive and Hiro found himself wanting to talk more just to make the awkwardness end. Yet now that he had started he also found that he didn’t want to stop either. 

“The school holds a showcase every year for prospective students. I had entered with an invention of my own. I called them microbots. They were really, really small robots. Super tiny and you could control thousands of them at a time with a neurotransmitter.” Hiro explained as he personally recalled making them, with his brother’s help. The fondness of that memory giving way to resigned anger as he pressed on with his story. 

“Professor Callaghan, the head of the robotic apartment here at SFIT, wanted them for himself. He staged the fire in order to steal them and faked his own death. When we first found out that they were stolen, the police wouldn’t believe us, so that’s when we created our super suits in order to stop him. Aaand we’ve just kept on superheroing since.” Hiro finished and silence fell between them once more. 

“Why did he want the microbots?” Varian eventually asked, still not looking at him.

“He... wanted to use them to get revenge on Krei. He’s the guy who funded the Silent Sparrow project. Callaghan’s daughter was the original test pilot. She went through the portal, but never came back out. And he blamed Keri for sending her through.” 

“Abigail.” Varian said and Hiro looked at him, once again in surprise. 

“I read the project files you gave me.” He clarified.

“Oh, Yeah.” Hiro remembered.”Well the good news is Baymax and I rescued her. So she’s back home now, safe.” 

It was Varian’s turn to look at Hiro in surprise. “You mean after everything he did, you still helped him?” He asked in disbelief. 

Now Hiro _really_ hadn’t expected that question. He looked back at the other boy and he noticed a storm behind his piercing blue eyes. But what that meant, Hiro could only guess. 

“Well, yeah, Abigail didn’t do anything wrong and she was the one in trouble,” Hiro paused and mulled over the question again. Then he took a deep breath and admitted a hard truth, more for himself than anything, “Also I didn’t want to wind-up like he did. I didn’t want anger and hate to make me forget who I really was and what’s really important.” 

This time Hiro met Varian’s gaze with resolve, there was something consoling in just saying those words out loud. But Varian eyes darted back and forth as if trying to read Hiro’s face, at war with himself over what to say or do next. Finally he jerked his head back towards the memorial to stare at it once more, or rather to stare pass it. 

Hiro followed his gaze and also looked out at the newly rebuilt building. This time he allowed himself remember things, not the tragic event itself, but small things, like setting up for his presentation, the cheers of congratulations from his friends when he told them he was accepted into the school, his final conversation with Tadashi on the bridge nearby, and the speech he had given a few weeks ago to commemorate it’s reopening and to honor his brother. That was when Varian interrupted his thoughts. 

“What happened to Callaghan?” He questioned. 

“He went to jail. There’s an official court date, sometime next year, but he’s already pleaded guilty so it’ll just be about giving him an actual sentence.” Hiro said with a sigh. He was not looking forward to standing before a judge and jury and having all of this dredged back up again. “I could never get through it, through any of this, if it wasn’t for Baymax, Aunt Cass, and my friends.”

“Yeah, I guess having friends would make things easier.” Varian agreed quietly and then went back to vaguely staring out into the middle distance, contemplating Hiro’s story. As for Hiro himself, he could only look at his shoes, unsure of what to say. Several awkward minutes passed with neither boy looking at each other or saying anything. 

After sometime, Hiro broke the silence first. “It’s almost lunchtime. How...how about I show you where the cafeteria is next?” 

Varian finally looked at him and agreed. “Alright.” He said and made to follow him.

* * *

Varian mulled over everything Hiro had said as he followed the other boy back across the yard. He couldn’t imagine anyone being so noble. Hiro’s commitment to doing what he believed was right was humbling. Varian would have killed the man, had he been in Hiro’s shoes. 

_“I didn’t want to wind-up like he did.”_

Varian’s stomach churned while recalling those words. Isn’t that actually what he had done though. Had he not hurt other people while seeking revenge against a rich and powerful foe? But what else was he to do? It wasn’t like he could bring the king to trial and have him sent to jail instead. 

Varian wrestled with these questions and not for the first time. He had spent a whole year battling his rage, sadness, and guilt; his darker emotions always bubbling under the surface, threatening to spillover at any moment. 

Sometimes Varian felt as if his cheery demeanor was just like a dam next to an ocean, made to hold back his more violent feelings, which constantly beat against the crumbling structure. Any leak or rupture could bring the whole thing tumbling down and he’d be swept away in a sea of his own hate. Along with anyone else caught in his path. 

In truth this frightened him. But he knew nothing else other than to keep up the facade. So he slapped on a cheerful smile as he entered the cafeteria.

* * *

The cafeteria was far more busy than the courtyard had been. Students milled about everywhere, eating and talking. The two boys got in line to order food. 

Hiro was just deciding on what he should get, and annoying a very grouchy looking lunch-lady while at it, when he heard someone yell his name out. 

"Hiro!" A taller girl, wearing a turtleneck and with long brown hair tied up in a ponytail, was waving frantically at him as she made her way over to them. 

"Karmi?" Hiro's disbelief quickly turned to joy when realization struck him. "Karmi!" He yelled and ran to scoop the woman into a hug. The forcefulness of which sent them both spinning and laughing in exuberance. 

When they finally untangled themselves Hiro asked,"What, what are you doing here? I thought your parents sent you away." 

"Well, we spent the past two months arguing about it. I didn't want to go. So they agreed that I could come back for the next semester." she smiled and then explained, "I just have to call, like everyday, and go home every other weekend. Also no more internships." She said this last bit sadly. Last term she had been kidnapped and experimented on by the lady she was interning for. Hiro had managed to rescue her, but her parents had unrolled her and took her back upstate to where they lived. 

"Well, I'm glad you're back," Hiro gave her a warm smile and she returned it. "Oh, I almost forgot. This is Varian." He said while turning to his new friend, "He's just moved here from Europe." 

Varian walked over to meet them and Hiro continued with the introductions. "Varian, this is my friend Karmi. She's one of the younger students here at SFIT, like us."

“Hi” He said and held out his hand for Karmi to shake. 

“Oh! So you got into college early too?”Karmi excitedly exclaimed while she vigorously shook his hand. “Are you Hiro’s age?” 

“I’m sixteen.” He answered.

“So am I! Well, actually, I’ll be seventeen in a few months but, still it’s nice to finally meet someone here my age. What are you majoring in?” 

Varian looked back down at the schedule he was holding,”Uhh.. Applied Physics and Engineering.” He read out-loud. Apparently alchemy wasn’t a major he could study here, and Professor Granville had told him that this was the best one for what he was trying to achieve. 

“So you’re a physicist. I’m going for a Biotech degree. I want to become a microbiologist and right now I’m studying viruses to try and create a new vaccine.” She eagerly explained her ongoing research. 

Varian took a moment to absorb this information, some of the words she used were new to him, but he did understand that vaccines were a type of medicine. “So you’re studying to become a physician?” He asked, putting what she had said into a context that he knew. 

Karmi nodded yes and embolden, Varian tried to use some of the new vernacular he had been learning. “That’s, what’s the word, cold? My mother was a medic.” He added trying to find a point of connection in order to keep the conversation going. But Karmi only looked at him in confusion. 

“Cold?” She said. 

“I think you mean ‘cool’.” Hiro chimed in.

“Oh, right.” Varian realized his mistake, “Sorry I’m still getting used to the slang here.” He chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head. 

“Oh, that’s right. Hiro said you were from Europe. What language do you usually speak?” She asked. 

“Oh lots.” He replied, happy to brag about something he did know. “English, German, Russian, Latin, Italian…”

He was listing off all the ones he knew, or at least could read, if not speak, when Karmi interrupted him excitedly. 

“Do you speak French?” She blurted out. 

“Oui.” He returned in French and they both started to giggle. 

Hiro looked back and forth between the two of them, unable to figure out what was so funny. He had been watching their ongoing conversation with a growing unease. He was beginning to feel left out and a twinge of jealousy started to cloud his thoughts. Though if you had asked him, he couldn’t have told you why. He should have been happy that his friends were getting along, shouldn’t he? 

“Oh, do you two wanna sit with me at lunch?” She asked, never looking away from Varian. 

Hiro found himself sliding between the two of them trying to get into Karmi line of sight, if only to get her to stop looking at the other boy for just a moment. 

“No. Sorry, but we gotta go?” He said, his voice going high like it always did when he lied or made an excuse. 

“But I thought we came over here just to eat?” Varian asked in confusion and Hiro’s mind began to race. What was he doing? Why had he said that? How could he get out of this situation and keep Karmi from talking to Varian anymore? And why did he even _care_? 

“Uh.. we did...but I just remembered thaaaat...I hadn’t shown you the lab you will be working in. We wanna get there and get you set up before the other students come in and , uh… hog all the … tools.” Hiro cringed. It was the lamest excuse he’d ever given. Oh, why did he have to be so bad at lying? 

Varian and Karmi only exchanged questioning looks at one another and shrugged. 

“Okay, just let me grab an apple to go.” Varian agreed and turned back to the line. 

“You, go do that.” Hiro said in a strained but relieved voice. He then turned to Karmi who was giving him a worried look. 

“Is everything ok?” She asked. 

“It’s fine.” His voice squeaked. He then let out a heavy sigh and added, “Look, I’m really glad you’re back. I’ll see you around?” 

“Yeah,” She agreed and gave him a soft smile. Varian walked over to join them again, having procured his apple, when Karmi waved goodbye to them both. 

* * *

Hiro stormed ahead down the hall, his hands in his pockets and his eyes lowered to the ground. He was still embarrassed and angry at himself over the incident in the cafeteria and didn’t really feel like talking. Varian tagged along blithely, munching on his apple. If the other boy had noticed Hiro’s mood he made no show of it. This only made Hiro’s resentment grow, which in turn only made him even more confused about his feelings. 

“You know what?” Varian asked cheerfully as he took another bite of his apple. 

“No, what?” Hiro responded deadpan, not looking at him as he read the numbers on the doors as they passed by them. 

“I read online that there are over _three hundred_ verities of apples sold in America.” He said and Hiro stopped to look at him confused. What did apples have to do with anything?

“I wanna see if I can buy one of each and take them back home with me.” Varian said with a sly smile. “It would explode Dad’s mind. He’d be so happy!” 

“Explode? You mean, ‘blow his mind.” Hiro corrected. 

“Yeah, that’s what I said.” Varian took another bite, seeming to ignore his blunder, and then flashed Hiro a winning smile. 

Hiro could only laugh at the ridiculousness of it all, which apparently was the reaction Varian had been hoping for, and they both broke down snickering. 

“Can you imagine? Just a pile of apples taller than my dad, and he’s a pretty tall guy.” Varian said, holding his hand high above his head indicating his father’s height.

“Yeah, he’ll cry with joy.” Hiro agreed through his laughter, and just like that all of his previous anger just melted away and he couldn’t even remember why he had been upset at the guy. 

“Oh, this is it,” Hiro stopped and pointed to a door up ahead. As they walked towards it he continued, “This is the communal lab you’ll be working in. Granville made sure to give you one to share with Wasabi and the others. That way there’ll be people that you know around who you can ask for help if you need it.” 

He opened the door and Varian walked past him to explore the large room. He spun around once and then turned back to Hiro. 

“Will you be working here too?” He asked. 

“Uh, sometimes, but I have my own lab in the robotics building.” Hiro explained. “They give out private labs to students who prove themselves, as like, a reward or something. I didn’t really do anything to earn one, myself, I just got Tadashi’s old lab. I guess Granville didn’t have the heart to clean it out and give it to someone else.” 

He recalled finding Tadahi’s old baseball cap in the office, and sadly looked out into the middle distance for a moment. When he came back to the present, he found Varian frowning at him in worry so he sprung back with a smile and joke. 

“If you thought living with Wasabi was a chore, just wait till you have to work with him.” 

This sent both boys laughing again, knowing how fastidious their friend could be.

* * *

Behind the two boys loomed a shadow, the owner of which was hidden away in even more shadow. As they laughed, ignorant of the danger they were in, their stalker paused and looked on. It would be so easy, the villain thought, so easy to attack now and rid the world of these two meddlesome pests while they were both alone, unarmed, and unaware of who was after them. But that could upset the balance. There was a needed timing to these things, one couldn’t rush the future, and if there was anything that the occupant in the shadows knew, it was patience. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So just for a time frame, this does take place after City of Monsters and at the start of the summer semester. However nothing past El Fuego is cannon to this story. Elements from from S2 will make their way into the story or be reintroduced, but the whole Fugitive arc just straight up did not happen.


	9. Musicals

Hiro and his friends found Wasabi standing outside the door to the communal lab. He was nervously biting his fingernail while staring at the door in a frazzled state. 

"Hi," Hiro said. 

Wasabi jumped ten feet into the air and whirled around, "Don't sneak up on me like that! I about had a heart attack." 

"Sorry," Hiro said,"So what are you doing just standing outside the lab? Why not go in?"

"Varian's in there." He said darkly. 

"So?" 

"Something..is..odd...about him." 

"You mean besides being from alternate past timeline?" Fred chimed in. 

"Yes, besides that."

"Or the fact he has a pet raccoon?" Gogo added. 

"Oh don't get me started on the little rodent. This morning I woke to find the masked varmint crumpling up my homework and making three-throws into the wastebasket." Wasabi mimicked the action of throwing a basketball while his friends shared skeptic looks among each other. 

"Technically, raccoons aren't rodents." Honey Lemon meekly corrected. 

Wasabi only gave her an 'are-you-kidding-me' glare and then continued. "But no, that's not the problem." 

"Then what is the problem?" Gogo asked exasperated. 

"So the other day I showed Varian my favorite movie, right?" 

"Oklahoma?" Honey Lemon confirmed. 

Wasabi nodded his head and continued, "Well, he liked it and so we watched some more musicals." 

"Well, isn't that a good thing? Now you have someone to share your hobby with." Hiro asked. 

"Oh it started out ok enough, he liked Singing in the Rain and he really enjoyed Rent, but then we watched Phantom of the Opera and that was when he went to the dark side." He said ominously. 

The other shared confused looks. 

"The 'dark side'?" Hiro ventured to ask. 

"After that he started watching all of the 'dark' musicals; Les Mis, Jekyll and Hyde, Little Shop of Horrors, Carrie, Sweeny Todd." His voice dropped to a low growl as he listed off the last musical, as if that one was the most disdainful of all. This however only ignited more confused stares. 

"So he likes horror stories, big deal." Gogo shrugged. 

"Big deal, hun, come and see for yourself." Wasabi retorted and he motioned everyone to follow him as he slowly opened the door to the laboratory. 

They heard music playing as soon as he opened it and one by one they stuck their heads past the door frame to see what was going on. Varian was in the mist of assembling his portal. He had a small makeshift forge going and was hammering out pieces of metal to shape the frame of the device. He was also singing at the top of his lungs while he did so. 

_"He'll see me but it's the last time_

_That filthy scum has gotta go_

_By tonight it will be over_

_When I strike the fatal blow_

_No way out I gotta do this_

_Him or me, okay let's play_

_Never killed but now I have to oh_

_Time to make Ed Crowder pay."_

He sang with reckless abandon, completely oblivious to the fact that the others were watching him. He was lost in the music and it was genuinely unnerving to see him sing so enthusiastically about such a disturbing subject matter. 

_"I won't get to Heaven_

_Why not raise a little Hell?_

_No way I'll see Heaven_

_So let's raise a little Heeeeeeellllllll!"_

He belted this last part loud and long, with all of skill of an opera singer performing an aria. It was impressive but still creepy. 

Wasabi decided they had seen enough and closed door again as the music continued to play on. Once on the other side of the door the group exchanged worried glances, unsure of what to make of what they had just seen. 

"Well, he at least has a nice singing voice." Honey Lemon nervously smiled, trying to find the positive in everything. 

"He's been singing about murder for three days straight." Wasabi responded deadpan. 

"Hun, maybe my dad was right, maybe he is a super villain?" Fred questioned thoughtfully. 

This however only annoyed Gogo. "He's not a super villain Fred. He's just some weird kid who likes musicals and horror." She rolled her eyes and continued. "You're making a big deal over nothing." 

"Well you try living with a dude who gleefully signings about slitting people's throats while chopping onions in the kitchen and see if you're not creeped out." Wasabi said in defense. 

"Don't you think you may be overreacting, just a little?" Hiro gently suggested. 

"Maaaybe," Wasabi relented but immediately followed with,"but next time he sings 'I Got Poison in My Pocket' while brewing a cup of tea, I'm making you drink it." He poked at Hiro's chest as he made that ridiculous threat. 

However, nothing came of this and no one had to drink any potentially poisoned tea. For soon after Varian stuck his head out the door and gave a wide grin upon seeing his friends. 

"Hey, guys! Whatcha doing out here?" He cheerfully asked, unaware they had been speaking of him. 

"Oh, nothing." Honey Lemon squeaked and Fred started whistling, making a point not to look Varian in the eyes. 

"How's the portal going?" Gogo asked, changing the subject and easing the tension in the room. 

"Oh, great! I almost got the frame built. Wanna come see?" He held door open and everyone filed into the lab, curious to see what he had made, and the previous discussion about killing people while singing show-tunes was forgotten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- I made an animatic for this chapter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YExz8SCLul8&feature=youtu.be
> 
> \- Also "Poison in My Pocket' is from A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder


	10. Gogo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this story is PG. Basically anything you might see come up in an old 90s sitcom, like Boy Meets World, Fresh Prince, Save by the Bell ect, is liable to show up along with anything that the parent shows cover. Nothing unsuitable for family entertainment, but clearly covering more mature subjects than the original source material, including today's chapter which discusses alcohol.  
> Sadly there's no rating for PG on the site. It just goes straight from G to Teen (PG-13) otherwise I would have marked it as such.

Varian was hot. The sun beat down on the back of his neck and sweat began to trickle down his forehead. He couldn't remember experiencing a hotter day. In Corona the temperature wouldn't rise more than a balmy 15 degrees Celsius normally, but today, here in San Fansokyo, it had to be close to 20 or more. His phone said it was 73 degrees Fahrenheit specifically, but he was still getting used to the different measurements Americans typically used. All he knew was that he had worn the lightest clothes he had, a tank top and athletic shorts, and he was still burning up. 

But there was nowhere to escape from the oppressive heat. He was standing on the sidewalk next to a stranger's house while Gogo worked on their car. She did repair work on vehicles as a side job. Often exchanging her services for a cheaper price to other students which in turn gave her more flexibility in what jobs she took and when. 

Right now she was helping out another student whose car wouldn't start and didn't want to call a tow to take it to a mechanic. Varian had expressed an interest in learning how automobiles worked, so she had agreed to letting him come along and teaching him some basics. However, there was nothing for him to do at the moment. Gogo was under the vehicle on a rolling board and there wasn't enough room for both of them down there. So all Varian could do was standby and watch, which was difficult as he couldn't really see what she was doing from the position she was in now. 

Instead he surveyed the street and surrounding buildings. There were the tightly packed three story townhouses behind them and on the other side of the street were clothing shops, apartments, a bank on the far street corner, and a single restaurant that read ‘Maggie’s Pub and Grill’. Varian licked his lips at the thought of drinking something cold and wet to stave off the blistering heat. He dug his hands in his pockets to check if he had any cash. He still had a fiver leftover from the twenty Wasabi had given him two weeks ago at the mall. 

“Hey Gogo, I’m going to go get a drink, you want anything?” He loudly asked the girl lying under the car.

“Uhhh, a soda would be nice. Maybe some Mr. Pep.” Gogo yelled back at him, never leaving her position or stopping her work. 

“I don’t know if they sell that there, but I’ll ask” and with that he walked away and headed across the street. 

“Just knock on the door and ask Ashley if she has any...” Gogo said distractedly, not noticing that Varian was no longer there. After a moment or two without hearing an answer, Gogo suddenly rolled out from underneath the vehicle. 

“Wait.” She said to no one in particular as she stared up at the sky and began to put together what had just happened. 

* * *

Varian squinted his eyes as he walked into the dark pub. The establishment was empty save for the barkeep at the other end wiping down the counter. This surprised Varian. In his world a place like this would be packed at this time of day, filled with field workers and sheepherders stopping to take their mid-day break. Practically his whole village would be gathered at the local tavern to eat, drink, and share gossip before going back to work. Varian had figured it would be even more crowded here given the larger city and the heat of day. 

He shrugged his shoulders. Oh well, maybe the food here wasn’t all that good. Didn’t matter, all he wanted was a drink. He walked over to the bar. 

“Hi, do you sell any, what was it she asked for,” Varian waved hello at the man on the other side and then cupped his chin in thought as he tried to recall what it was Gogo had wanted. “Pep?” He finished.

The large man didn’t answer him back, only to wordlessly reach under the counter and pull out a can of the soda and set it down. 

“Oh, yes, that’s it. Also I’ll have your darkest ale, please.” 

“I.D.” The man said deadpan. 

“Excuse me?” Varian asked not sure what the man was requesting. 

“I need to see your officially licensed identification.” The man explained tiredly, as if he had to recite this often. 

“Uh, I have my student I.D. if that’s what you want.” Varian said, confused, as his hand went back into his pocket to dig out his wallet and money. 

The big man gave a heavy sigh and pointed to a sign placed in front of the cash register.  ‘In Accordance to Federal Law all Patrons must be **21** or older to purchase alcohol and must show valid I.D  .’ It read.

“You need a government issued license or passport, kid.” The barkeep said with annoyance, clearly believing Varian was there to try and pull some scam.

But Varian could only stare at the sign in bewilderment, still frozen in place with his hand in his pocket. His mouth hung open in astonishment as he tried to process what was going on. The amount of reliance on forms and identification in this world was odd enough but now there were laws against _beer_? That was practically all anyone drunk in his world. Coffee, tea, and cocoa were expensive and meant as a treat, and the only drinking water to be had were from the community wells, the river being brackish that close to the sea, and you still had to take time to draw the water. Which you didn’t want to do every time you were thirsty. And while this world did have running water, less expensive hot beverages, and that sugary soda in abundance; he still couldn’t figure out why that would be cause for preventing anyone from buying an ale, let alone people under such an arbitrary age. 

“But..but _why_?” He whined in confusion. 

Just then Gogo burst through the door, stormed to up to the front counter, and before Varian could complain to her about this dumb rule, she grabbed him by the ear and proceeded to drag him back outside. 

* * *

It wasn’t until they had made it back across the street did Gogo relinquish her grip on Varian. 

“What were you thinking!” She whirled on him angrily.

Varian only stood there and looked at her, still befuddled and ruefully rubbing his ear where she had pinched it. 

“You’re only sixteen!” She yelled, as if this was the most obvious explanation for her righteous anger. 

“So? You’re only eighteen.” He retorted back. As if she had any right to berate him in such a manner when she was only two years older. 

“ _I’m_ an adult,” She explained. “But that’s not the point. You’re a child. You don’t need to be drinking or trying to trick bartenders that you’re older.”

“I’m not a child!” Varian responded, properly angry now himself. “What makes you any different?” 

“I can hold down a job, pay rent, buy groceries, I can vote.” She began to list off what she thought were requirements for adulthood. 

“Sooo can _you_ drink?” Varian interrupted as he pointed back to the bar. 

“Well, no.” She admitted, temporarily tripped up by that question. However, the smug look on Varian’s face renewed her annoyance with him. “You can’t even buy a hamburger without someone’s help.” 

“Just because I’m new to this world, doesn’t mean I can’t take care of myself.” He said, deeply offended by that last remark. 

“Oh really, and when’s the last time you had to buy your own food, or clothes, or live on your own?” She asked skeptically.

“I’ve been on my own since I was fourteen!” He snapped. 

Then just as suddenly he stiffened with surprise, he hadn’t meant for that to come out. Both he and Gogo stared at each other, herself equally in shock by his revelation. He quickly turned his head away, bit his lower lip, and stuck his hands in his pockets. He just stood there awkwardly unwilling to look her in the eyes.

For Gogo’s part, she felt her heart drop the moment he had said it. What did he mean ‘on his own’? Who’d leave a fourteen year old to fend for themselves? Didn’t he say he had a dad? But before she could ask for some clarity, Varian spoke again. 

“Look, I’m sorry,” He said defensively, “I didn’t know about the alcohol rule. It won’t happen again.” He put his hands up in defeat and then walked away from her and the conversion. Making his way back to the car, he picked up a wrench and began to tighten a socket. He wasn’t entirely sure what he was doing but anything to keep himself busy and to avoid any more uncomfortable arguments. 

Gogo watched him with increasing worry. She wanted to know more, to help him, but she could tell from his stance and his behavior that he wasn’t willing to talk about it. She knew all about avoiding feelings and bottling up one’s problems. Not that long ago she had been a moody teenager who shoved people away, too. Heck, she still was a moody teenager that shoved people away. Though she had gotten better since she started college. It was amazing how much difference only two years could make. 

Before she had met Tadashi and her other friends, she had been a pretty lonely person. Constantly bullied in grade school and struggling with depression, she was considered the weird emo kid that always sat quietly in the back of the class. However, no matter how bad things had gotten, no matter how many fights she got into at school, nor now many times she cried into her pillow at night, she had always, always had her dad to turn to. Even now she still relied on the man, rushing to him to bare her soul when Tadashi had died, unable to bring herself to talk to anyone else about her recent loss. 

Who did Varian have? She wondered. If his father wasn’t there for him, then who did he turn to for help? Why had he even been left alone? 

Her thoughts were broken when Varian let out a yelp of pain. He had burned his hand on the hot metal and proceeded to stick his fingers in his mouth to suck on the injured digits, still not looking at her, embarrassed by his clumsiness. 

She let out a weary sigh. He was a mess. But so was she, and she didn't know how best to reach him. _What would dad do?_ She thought. Try to get her to open up about a subject that she did enjoy or distract her with a project, she decided. 

"Sooo, Wasabi tells me you want to learn how to drive." Gogo said, changing the subject while she slowly made her way over to stand next to him. 

"Yeah." Varian agreed quietly, keeping his eyes on the engine, still choosing to not look at her. "But because I just moved here I wouldn't be able to get my license for another six months. I'm not sure I'll still be here by then." And with that he ducked back under the hood. 

This didn't sound encouraging to Gogo. If he truly was on his own then what was he going back for? But she knew bringing her doubts up would only push him away further. 

"Well, if you are still here in six months, you'll need a car to drive around in." She suggested instead. 

This grabbed Varian's attention and he finally stopped to look back at her. "Whatd'ya mean?"

"Well it's just, if you want to still learn how cars work, then perhaps we can build one, together. That way if Wasabi helps you get your licence then you'll have your own vehicle to ride in." She continued slowly.

"You… you mean it?" Varian asked hopefully. 

"Sure, we can work on it in our free time." She said encouragingly. 

"Yeah? Yeah! That..that be great. I'd really like that. " Varian agreed. 

He smiled appreciatively at Gogo and she returned it in kind. 

"Of course the first thing you'll need to learn is what socket you need to tighten or not." She gently teased, pointing to the socket he had busied himself with for the past few minutes to no avail. 

"Oh, right." He laughed in embarrassment and finally stopped trying to use the wrench. 

"Here, let me show you how to check the oil." She said and thus the day passed without further incident, just the two of them laughing and bonding over cars. 


	11. Nightmares

Varian watched the rain pour down outside and took another sip of the instant coffee he had made. The view from the window matched his mood, groggy and gloomy. 

Sunday had come again and Varian was left alone inside the dorm. Wasabi was gone to work for the day. He was something called a part-time 'Super Driver'. Every Thursday and Sunday he'd chauffeur people around the city in his car in exchange for pay and he wouldn’t be back until late tonight.

As for Varian’s other friends, they were all busy; Fred was on patrol with his dad as a sort of a father/son bonding thing, Gogo and Honey Lemon were going to a party at some place called a 'Sorority House', which was a club for college girls only, so he hadn't been invited, and Hiro had promised to spend time with his aunt and do some chores at the Lucky Cat.

Varian had even tried texting Karmi to see what she was up to. She lived on the bottom floor of the dorms and the two of them had struck up a friendship since Hiro introduced them, both bonding over books and being some of the younger students at the school. However, her mother was in town visiting and she wasn't free to do anything either. 

Varian sighed. Looked like everyone had someone to be with besides him. 

Varian hated being alone. Once upon a time, he wouldn't have minded all that much, and he still didn't so long as he had a project to busy himself with, but ever since the snowstorm and the endless weeks of isolation that followed, he feared being left alone for too long with nothing but his negative thoughts to keep him company. Even being trapped in a dungeon for a year, alongside his cellmate Andrew, had been preferable to the crushing loneliness. And Andrew was the _worst_. 

He involuntarily shivered at the thought of his former inmate and the damp, stinking jail cell. He cast his eyes about the small apartment, looking for anything to distract his mind with.

He had already finished all of his homework that Friday and there wasn’t any chores left to do. He had taken what little laundry there was down to the dormitories’ laundromat this morning and washed everything, just to get out of the cramped room. 

He could brave the storm and head to the college’s library or the communal laboratory, but being a Sunday, there wouldn’t be anybody else there and he’d be faced with the same problem only just with damp clothes on this time. Besides he didn’t really want to work on the portal right now. He’d finished the frame and the wiring last week. All that was left was to program the device and find the same frequency that had connected the two worlds in the first place. If all went well he should be home by this time next week, and he really didn’t want to think about what would come after just yet. 

He briefly considered going over and introducing himself to his new neighbors, but the loud video game music coupled with the whooping jeers from a group of guys on one end, and the softer, but still noticeable, giggling of a man and woman coming from the other dorm on the opposite end, told him he would be intruding. People very much kept to themselves in the larger city, unlike his old village where everyone knew everybody. Even when he had tried to wave hello to someone down in the laundry room, all he received back was a little nod before the other person went about their business, ignoring him completely. 

Well being ignored was probably better than being angrily chased down by a mob, he thought, and then just as soon berated himself for bringing up such bad memories. 

“Gah!’ He wordlessly yelled in frustration and then began to pace back and forth about the room, disturbing his pet raccoon who had been asleep in the corner. He paused when his eyes landed on the book Hiro had bought him. He was almost to the end of it. He might as well finish it. So he curled up on the sofa to read and Ruddiger went back to his nap.

* * *

_So endeth this chronicle. It being strictly a history of a boy, it must stop here; the story could not go much further without becoming the history of a man. When one writes a novel about grown people, he knows exactly where to stop—that is, with a marriage; but when he writes of juveniles, he must stop where he best can._

Varian read the final conclusion of ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’ and mulled over the novel’s contents. He had, for the most part, enjoyed the book, though there were clearly colloquialisms and customs peppered throughout that he didn’t fully understand. But the final chapter had him confused. He couldn’t figure out why his favorite character, Huck, was so upset at having a better life now. The boy had found a treasure and was rich, been adopted by the nice widow, given clean clothes and an education. Why on earth would he want to run away from all that? Of course he didn’t stay away, with Tom enticing him back with the promise of playing bandits, but still there was no ‘freedom’ to be found sleeping outside in the mud and stealing scraps of food. He should know. 

Varían shook his head in bewilderment as he turned to the final page. There was a brief snippet about the author and underneath a list of other books written by him. There were a few squeals to this story and couple of other original works listed down. He made note of them and decided he might try and track a copy or two down. A quick search on the internet uncovered not only books, but several films and plays based off his novels as well. One in particular that stood out to him was a musical based off a tale called ‘A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court’. 

Varian didn’t know what a ‘Yankee’ was, but he was quite familiar with King Arthur and his knights of the round table, with ‘Le Morte d'Arthur’ being one of the books he owned back home. He also found he that he enjoyed musicals while in this world. Wasabi had introduced him to the art form a few days ago. They were kind of like operas, but shorter and more accessible to the public at large. Varian himself had never even been to a real theater before, having only seen traveling troupes perform outside on makeshift stages during holidays, festivals, and the like. 

He turned on the projector next to Wasabi's laptop. His new roommate had it set up to where you could pull anything up on the computer and then have it displayed on the opposite wall. He put the movie on and was greeted with the sound of music swirling through the air. 

While the open credits rolled Varian decided to make himself a quick lunch. Wasabi had replaced the microwave and Varian fixed himself a cup of macaroni and cheese, making sure to follow the directions carefully. He didn’t want to short circuit this machine as well. 

In his world, pasta wasn’t common. It had to be imported from Italy and was really only for special occasions or the elite. In fact the word ‘macaroni’ itself had become slang for fancy. Not for the first time, he marveled at the decadence that flowed freely in this world as he sat back down on the couch to watch the film and enjoy a hot meal. 

The movie was about a blacksmith who traveled back in time to King Arthur's court; besting the fake wizard Merlin with his inventions and thereby proving science was superior to ‘magic’, bringing about reforms that bettered the lives of the people, and winning the heart of a fair maiden. Add in the fun songs and the colorful (though anachronistic) costumes, and it was everything Varian could want in a story. Save for the ending. 

The blacksmith was returned home against his will and forced to leave behind the life and love he had found. The movie tried to have a happy end by having the hero meet, and presumably fall in love, with another girl that looked just like his lost lady fair. Implying she was an descendant of the first woman or something.

Varian thought that a hollow victory. He was rooting for the blacksmith to stay. Everything was better there in that world, both for himself and for the people around him. What was it with this Mark Twain guy and his characters getting unsatisfying endings? 

Varian shook his head again, got up, and turned off the the computer and projector. He then cleaned up from his meal and looked around for more things to do. All the while humming one of the tunes from the movie. It was a simple melody but catchy and Varian bet he could play it by memory. 

He dug underneath the sofa and pulled out the guitar Gogo had bought him. He had just purchased new strings for it when he was out with her yesterday. He sat down and began to tune the instrument, experimentally plucking at the strings to see if they matched the wordless notes he sung out loud. Satisfied that all was in order, he started to play. 

_“_ _Thou swell, thou witty, thou sweet, thou grand_

_Wouldst kiss me pretty? Wouldst hold my hand?”_

Varian sang, trying to remember the words that the woman on the screen had sung. But soon enough he found himself reduced to humming instead as he couldn’t quite remember them all. He’d have to practice it more if he wanted to perform the song for anyone. Though who that might be he didn’t know. It wasn’t like he had anyone in his life to serenade to. It was kind of hard forming any relationships when you were hated by a whole kingdom. Varian let out a long weary sigh. He just couldn’t escape the constant reminders of his past today. No matter how much he tried. 

He was no longer in the mood for music, or for anything really, so he put the guitar back where he got it and slumped back down on the couch. He listened to the rain as it gently beat against the window as he stared up at the ceiling, unable to focus. Ruddiger sensed his discomfort and got up from his perch and moved to curl up on his lap. Varian absentmindedly began to stroke the animal’s fur as he brooded. He was grateful that, no matter what, his pet was always there at least. But a raccoon wasn’t quite the same as having a human around to talk too. 

However the constant drumming noise against the window pane paired with softness of the sofa and the comforting warmth of the small loving creature nuzzled against his stomach soon put Varian at ease again and before he knew it he had fallen asleep himself. 

* * *

Varian was cold. The snow fell all around him and blurred his vision. Not that there was much to see. It was also dark out and he couldn’t distinguish any discernible landmarks. He didn’t know where he was but something told him that he needed to leave this place. He began to run, but still nothing around him changed; just the neverending darkness and the snow that went on forever. 

Suddenly, up ahead, he saw the tall figure of a man standing in the distance. 

“Dad!” He yelled with desperate hope and began to run faster. His father just stood there with his back towards Varian and wouldn’t turn around no matter how many times his son called for him. 

Varian neared and reached out his hand to grab the larger man by the arm. But before his fingers could even graze his father’s sleeve, black rocks came shooting out of the ground cutting him off. The massive pointy stones formed a impenetrable wall and Varian hopelessly glanced every which way looking for a way around. 

He turned to the right and saw off to the side a woman with long flowing blonde hair, also with her back turned from him. Varian took off running again. 

“Rapunzel! Rapunzel, my dad, he’s-..” He stopped mid-sentence as more rocks sprung forth, blocking her from view as well. Once again Varian was left to hunt for another way through. 

This time he turned to the left and he saw a man and woman standing a ways away laughing together, completely ignoring his existence. 

“Eugene! Cass!” He called out and once more began to run. And once more the rocks cut him off. 

Now Varian was really getting desperate. The only place left to go was to run back the way he had come. He turned back round and made to do so but was then confronted by the sight of whole group of people. His new friends were gathered in a semicircle and talking, though he couldn’t make out what they were saying. 

He didn’t even bother trying to gain their attention. He knew they would ignore him just the same as the others had. He just continued running towards them, hoping against hope to beat the rocks this time. 

He didn’t.

Now he was completely enclosed by the black spikes. Everywhere he turned their dark, mirror like reflections cast his image back to him in fragmented pieces. He pounded upon their unbreakable surfaces, but it was no use.

“Somebody! Anybody! Please help!” He begged and then broke down sobbing, falling to his knees.

“Please. Won't someone help me.” This last plea came out as a resigned whisper. No one was coming, he knew. No one ever came when you needed them. 

Just then even more rocks began to erupt from the ground, making his prison even smaller. They continued to press in all around him coming ever closer and closer. Soon he’d be crushed between them or impaled upon on their sharp ends. He got up in order to run again, but there was nowhere to run. 

* * *

Varian woke up screaming. He was covered in a clammy sweat and his heart raced. He heaved gulps of air into his lungs and tried to get his bearings. 

He was still on the couch sitting in the dorm room. The rain had slowed and the sun was beginning to set. The noise from the other apartments had died down as well as he couldn’t hear anything but his own heavy breathing. 

Ruddiger had jumped from his lap in surprise when he had first awaken, but now his pet had climbed back onto the sofa to join him and gently pawed at his chest in worry. Varian scooped the raccoon into a hug and tried to slow his breath and his heart rate. 

Once he could breathe again, he got up and made his way to the bathroom. He turned the shower on to full blast, tore off his clothes, and stepped inside. 

Varian closed his eyes tried to focus on the sensation of the hot water streaming down face and body. He tried to tell himself that it was just dream and that he was really here in this other world, one without magic or unbreakable rocks. The running water helped with that. Warm showers weren’t a thing where he came from. 

Varian let out a deep relaxing sigh, not realizing that he had been holding his breath since he had stepped inside the tub. This wasn’t the first time he had had nightmares about the storm and the rocks, but it was the first one he had had in several weeks and for whatever reason it had shaken him more than usual. 

He guessed it was because, for the first time in a really long time, he had begun to feel safe again. There was no one out to get him in this world. People here didn’t hate him or fear him. He was sheltered and accepted and he found himself not wanting to lose that. 

For the briefest of moments, he caught himself thinking about not returning home. He then wanted to kick himself for having considered it. It didn’t matter what he wanted. His dad needed him. He couldn’t abandon his father now. Not when he was so close to finding a solution. 

With his new found resolve he turned off the faucet and stepped out of the shower. He then decided to change into his pajamas as it was getting dark out. He put on the soft cotton sleepwear and then sat cross legged on the couch snuggling under a warm fuzzy blanket. 

He just continued to sit there, listening to soft sounds of the sprinkling rain, watching the shadows grow longer, and focusing on the feel of the covers and the fabric of his clothes. 

“Be present in the moment.” Andrew had told him. 

Varian had never really fit in with the Saporians, his alliance with them being more one of mutual benefit rather than any genuine camaraderie. However, as much as he disliked the man, he found his old cellmate’s advice useful whenever he found himself overwhelmed or panicked. 

He continued to just breathe and let his mind calm down. Just then Wasabi came home. 

“Wasabi! You’re back!” Varian yelled. He jumped up from the sofa and ran over to wrap the larger guy in a hug, relieved that he was no longer alone. He had only known the other teen for two short weeks, but Varian had come to rely on him in a way he hadn’t with anybody else before. Wasabi was just _there_ for him. 

Wasabi, however was only confused by the sudden display of affection. Varian wasn’t known to be a hugger. 

“Uhh, yeah… I brought back hamburgers.” He said and held up a brown paper sack. 

Varian broke the hug and tried to act nonchalant. “Did you get extra pickles?” he asked, though he couldn’t fully hide the sniffle in his voice. 

“Yup, just as you like it.” He then paused and looked hard at Varian, searching his face. “Is everything okay?” He asked with concern. 

“Yeah..yeah. Everything's fine.” Varian squeaked unconvincingly. He then racked his brain for an excuse to change the subject. “It’s just I... found a new musical today. I thought you might like to watch it with me.” 

Wasabi’s eyes narrowed in suspension, “Who gets murdered?”

Varian couldn’t help but laughed. “No one. No one dies. It’s a comedy.” He encouraged. 

“Well, ok. I’ll give it a shot.” the older teen agreed. 

So Varian put on the movie second time for that day and he and Wasabi watched while eating their dinner. He wound up enjoying it even more with a friend watching with him and all previous woes were banished from his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I called this the social distancing chapter while typing it :P  
> Also if you ever wanted to know why Yankee Doodles called the feather in his cap 'macaroni' now ya do.


	12. Mistakes

Varian ran around the lab checking the various wires and components of his machine. Satisfied that everything was in order, he then went over to the computer monitor to type in the coordinates and turn his portal device on. 

This was the first real test of the device and he was nervous: nervous that it wouldn't work and nervous that it would. He still had mixed feelings about leaving and for once he was glad to have the lab to himself right now as his friends would have made departing harder to do. 

His eyes scanned the screen as rows upon rows of equations popped up. The computer was supposed to make the math easier and help with the accuracy of the portal, but he wasn’t an expert in software and was still getting used to using such machines. He had to have Hiro’s help in programming the thing and attaching it to the portal he had built. He would have been more comfortable having Hiro on hand for this part of the test, but the other boy was away at his job interning for Keri Tech so Varian had to make do. 

He typed in a few more commands into the computer and then turned to the dashboard that he had built with its more familiar dials and buttons. He flipped a switch and the portal began to roar to life. 

“It’s working!” Varian exuberantly yelled to no one in particular, but his excitement quickly turned to fear when he saw where the portal had opened up to. 

Instead of the lush green fields of Corona the portal showcased the bottom of a seabed. For a few precarious moments Varian could make out the shapes of fish swimming about and sparking sunlight filtering through the waves, but no sooner had what happened registered in his mind did the water start gushing out in torrents. 

He was pushed back against the wall as a blast of seawater assailed against his body. He struggled to fight his way back to the console. He needed to shut the portal off before the whole city was flooded. He gasped for air as salt water made its way into his mouth and his nose. He could barely stand against the force of the stream and the water hit him directly in the face. He couldn’t even see where he was going as the water assaulted his eyes as well. He pressed on and held out his hands groping for the dashboard in front of him, all the while sputtering and gulping down more of the seawater. 

Finally, he found hold of the console and held on for dear life as the force of the water began to sweep his legs out from under him. As darkness began to crowd around the edges of his consciousness, he took one free hand and began to blindly move it across the dashboard turning every dial and knob he could find. He couldn’t breathe, every time he tried to catch a breath of air his lungs filled with water instead. After what seemed like an eternity his hand finally found the off switch and the torrent of water began to subside. 

Varian didn’t get a change to celebrate his victory though. No sooner did he see the now dormant portal machine then did his vision began to whirl as the room started to spin. He was falling, but he didn’t feel the impact as his lifeless body slumped to the ground. 

* * *

The first thing Varian noticed as he regained consciousness was pain; an intense searing pain in his chest as he coughed up seawater. His lungs and throat burned as he drew air back in and he felt like he might throw up. He rolled on to his side as he spit out even more water and that was when he first opened his eyes and saw a fish flopping next to his head. He bolted upright in surprise but his body protested this sudden movement with more pain. A firm but gentle hand landed upon his chest and carefully pushed him back down into a lying position. 

“It is alright.” He heard the robot, Baymax, say. “Please, lie back down. You are not ready to move yet.” 

Varian felt the cold shallow water hit his back as he sunk back to the ground. He was still struggling for air and unable to focus on anything clearly. He saw one of Baymax’s snow white hands move towards his face and felt a soft mask being cupped over his mouth and nose. 

“Just relax and breathe.” Baymax soothed. 

Varian tried to follow these instructions as he felt cold air being pumped through the mask. His eyes darted about, but he couldn’t see much without tilting his head. Which he tried to do but the mask prevented him from turning fully. He saw evidence of the previous flooding; large puddles of seawater, clumps of seaweed strewn about, and various washed up sea life that were dotted here and there, some of which were still alive and moving around. 

He groaned at the mess he would now have to clean up. Hopefully before anyone else found out he had made it in the first place. 

He focused his eyes back on Baymax who still hovered over him, gazing intently with its coal black ‘eyes’. Varian guessed the robot was in the middle of doing bodily scans in order to monitor his condition. 

“How...Where did you come from?” Was all Varian could think to say, his voice sounding muffled under the mask. His mind was still fuzzy on what exactly had happened. He remembered the portal opening and fighting the waves to turn it off, but not much else after that. 

“I was in the robotics lab next door recharging when my sensors picked up the commotion coming from here. When I arrived I found you unconscious on the floor and had to perform CPR.” 

Up till now, Varian had always found Baymax’s lilting voice unnatural and unnerving to listen to, but as the robot recounted how it saved his life, Varian now thought its voice the most beautiful sound in the world. Someone had come to help him. True, the robot was programmed to do just that, help people, but that didn’t stop the wave of gratitude that washed over him. 

Finally, satisfied that Varian could breathe on his own, Baymax removed the ventilation mask and helped Varian to sit up. That was when professor Granville burst through the door. 

_ So much for cleaning up before anyone found out _ , he thought, his heart sinking to the floor. 

Granville looked about wided eyed, taking in the scene. She spotted Varian sitting on the floor next to Baymax and rushed to his side. 

“Are you alright?” She asked gravely, checking him over for any signs of harm or injury. “What happened?” 

Varian was briefly reminded of the times his dad would do the same whenever he had messed up before; desperately looking him over, asking about his well being, before heaving out a weary sigh of disappointment when Varian had to admit to causing the latest explosion or fire. 

He swallowed hard before answering, “It..it was the portal. I must’ve set the coordinates wrong. I’m.. I’m sorry.” 

His voice cracked at that last apology and he looked like he was about to cry. Granville looked to Baymax for clarification. 

“I had to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but he should be alright now.” Baymax informed her. “However , if you would like I can still call emergency services.” 

Garnville sighed and finally relaxed. “No Baymax, that won’t be necessary. If you say the boy will be alright then I’ll trust your judgement.” 

Tadashi had built the robot well and Granville had trusted it with the safety of her students numerous times before. Plus the less situations where Varian would have to procure official documents the better. 

She stood up, smoothed down her skirt, and continued,”I’ll call maintenance over to come clean up. Mr. Quirinson...”

“Y...yes ma'am?” 

“Meet me in my office once you feel well enough to walk.” 

Varian bowed his head. 

“Yes ma’am.” he softly replied and with that Granville turned around and left. 

Varian felt his stomach churn. He hadn’t even been at school for a week and now he was sure he was going to be kicked out. What other student had ever flooded the science lab? He was a disaster and now the most important person in the university knew it. 

Varian held his head in his hands in despair. 

“You appear to be distressed.” Baymax said. “Perhaps you would like to talk about it.” 

“Talk about it?” Varian asked incredulously. “Talk about what?! That I messed up my chances of getting an education? That I’m going to have to find a new way of getting back home? That I may never see my father again?” He heaved a broken sob before continuing. “Hey, how about the fact that I’m a failure and a dangerous screw-up and now everyone here is going to know it too!” 

Baymax didn’t answer any of these questions. He only held out his arms and asked, “Would you like a hug?” 

Varian balked at the robot, “No I don’t wanna a hug,” he whined and then got up and started to walk away. But he soon stopped in his tracks, let out a whimper, and then turned right back around and ran into the robot's arms anyways. He broke down and cried. It was the first time he had allowed himself to cry in front of someone, even if that ‘someone’ was just a machine and therefore couldn’t really judge you. 

“There, There.” Baymax soothed and patted Varian softly on the head. “Nothing is as bad as it seems. Often we let our imaginations run away with us. Why do you fear being seen as a ‘screw-up’?” 

“Because..”Varian bemoaned and snuggled his face into the robot’s soft pillowy chest, not completing that thought. It all seemed so obvious to him and he didn’t expect a machine to get it. 

“Everyone makes mistakes.” Baymax concluded. 

“Yeah? Well, no one quite makes mistakes like I do.” Varian bitterly replied and finally broke away from the hug. 

The robot titled its head, unsure what Varian meant. 

Varian sighed dramatically and shook his head. “I better just go get this over with,” he said in defeat and with that he turned around and headed out the door, leaving Baymax still standing in the flooded lab to contemplate what the moody teenager had told him. 

* * *

"You...you wanted to see me, Professor Granville?" Varian timidly poked his head around the door to her office. 

"Yes, please come in." Granville replied. She was sitting at her desk watching the feedback from the security cameras in the lab. They showed a video of the portal opening up and water spilling out over and over again on loop. Varian felt disheartened. He hadn't been planning on 'lying' per say, but he had begun to hope that he could spin the story in a more favorable direction. However,there was no point in doing so now. There was his incompetence up on display for all the world to see and she knew what he had done.

He sat down in the chair opposite her desk and waited dutifully for her to reprimand him. 

"So what exactly went wrong Mr. Quirinson?" She asked as she replayed the footage again for him. 

"I got the device to work, but I accidentally opened a portal to the bottom of the ocean." He explained. "I think either the coordinates were off or maybe I had just managed to open a spatial rift instead of an inter-dimensional one."

Granville's expression was unreadable and Varian couldn't tell if she was accepting of his excuse or not. 

"And what did you learn from this experience?" She continued.

“Uhh... that it’ll be harder to reconnect the two worlds than I initially thought?” He answered, confused by her line of questioning. 

“And?” Granville raised a single eyebrow but her face remained emotionless besides that. Varian could only stare at her blankly. He didn’t know what answer she was looking for. 

After a moment of silence Garnville tried to nudge him in the right direction. “Are there any certain safety precautions that you may have overlooked that could prevent accidents like this from happening in the future?” She clarified.

Varian could only numbly shrug. He couldn’t think of anything that he could have done differently off hand, and it wasn’t like wearing his goggles would have stopped him from drowning. 

When he failed to give her an answer, Granville let out a weary sigh and continued, “I should have done this sooner, but it looks like I have no choice now...”

Here it came, the moment he had been dreading. Varian closed his eyes tight and braced himself for the eventual rejection. 

“..then to give you your own laboratory.” She finished. 

Varian opened his eyes in surprise. He couldn’t have heard that right. He looked back at Granville who now had a pen in her hand and was looking over a folder. 

“It looks like the physics building has a few open.” She said to no one in particular as she scanned the papers before her. “Of course it’ll need to have a separate office with a viewing wind-- ah ha, there’s one.” She flashed a wide grin as she apparently found what she had been looking for and proceeded to write something down next to it. 

“My..my own lab?” Varian asked bewildered. “Don’t you usually give those out to students who do something extraordinary, like become top of their class or invent something amazing?” 

Granville looked back up at him, “Yes.” She plainly stated as if Varian somehow met those requirements. 

“What’s amazing about nearly flooding the whole school?” Varian incredulously asked. 

Granville tilted her head a little. “You don’t think building a working spatial portal in a week is exceptional?” 

“But it didn’t work?” He wailed. “Not like it was supposed to, anyways. I failed and ruined the communal lab while doing it. I thought you were bringing me here to expel me for screwing up not to reward me.” 

“Mr. Quirinson, failure is the main way in which we learn. If I expelled every person who made a mistake while working in a lab there wouldn’t be a single student left in the whole school.” Granville gently chided.”Everyone makes mistakes; in fact some of the best scientific discoveries were made through accidents in a lab.”

“Yeah, well I bet none of those involved blowing up your whole village either.” He said bitterly under his breath, now completely lost. Surely the professor was just taking pity upon him, the same she had done for Hiro. 

The remark about his village being destroyed did not go unnoticed by Granville, but she filed it away along with the other clues of his past that she had gleaned from him in the last couple of weeks rather than press the matter. Instead she heaved a sigh, stood up, and walked around to where he sat. She knelt down to his level and placed a hand upon his shoulder, bringing him out of his brooding reflection. 

“Look, as headmaster of the school, it is my job to make sure that all of my students are kept safe. I hadn’t anticipated you successfully building your machine so quickly and I failed to provide you with the proper equipment and space in order for you to conduct your experiments out of harm's way. That was  _ my _ mistake, and I am learning from it and correcting it. Your new lab will have a separate room attached so that you can turn the portal on and off from behind a protective glass thereby avoiding incidents like the one today.”

Varian searched Professor Granville’s eyes, unsure of what to make of her words. No adult had ever admitted fault to him before; let alone taken responsibility for an accident that he had caused. Usually when he messed up he was expected to clean up and then avoid working on whatever it was that had caused the fire, explosion, or in this case flood. There was a small part of him that knew his dad would like nothing more than for him to give up alchemy altogether. Yet, here was an authority figure who was not only encouraging him to continue but actively telling him that there was no shame in failing. 

Granville gave him a small but warm smile and Varian couldn’t help but return it. After the moment passed, she stood back up and spoke again in her usual administrative tone,”Now the new lab will be made ready for you to move into later this week. You’ll have to disassemble your device and reassemble it there, is that possible?” 

Varian nodded his head yes. 

“Good. Now in the meantime, I believe there are some maintenance personnel who could use a hand in mopping up the communal laboratory.” She hinted. 

“Yes, ma’am.” Varian agreed and then made to leave, however he was stopped at the door by Granville’s voice. 

“Oh and Mr. Quirinson, keep up the excellent work.” She gave him another smile and Varian suddenly felt ten feet tall as he walked back to the lab. 

* * *

Maintenance had already cleared away the seaweed and other debris once he had made his way back to the room. Baymax had also managed to save a few of the fish and other sea creatures and placed them in a makeshift tank full of saltwater. For Varian’s part though, he had to mop the entire floor to help get rid of all the water. He was just finishing up when all of his friends arrived. 

“What happened here?” Wasabi asked, taking note of the mop in Varian’s hand. 

“And why does it smell like dead fish?” Gogo added as she scrunched up her nose in distaste. 

“I may have accidentally flooded the whole lab while working on the portal.” Varian admitted sheepishly. 

“Oof,” Hiro winced, “What did Professor Ganville say when she found out?’

“Well, she, she uh, gave me my own lab.” Varian stammered unsure how to explain how those two things connected. “She said I needed a new workspace to conduct experiments in since I got the portal working.” 

“Really?!” Fred said excitedly, “Duuude, I never knew someone who got awarded their own lab in their first semester. Well except for Tadashi and Hiro that is.” 

“No, just Tadashi,” Hiro quietly corrected, then turned back to Varian and gave him a small smile. “Congratulations man, you earned it.”

“Oooh we should celebrate!” Honey Lemon exclaimed. 

“Way ahead of you Honey Lemon,” Fred jumped in, pulling out a case from his backpack and holding up. “I brought the next story of Professor What for us to watch, The Delaks! In it the Professor meets his worst enemy, a race of evil slimy aliens encas--”

“Yeah, yeah, just put it on already.” Gogo interrupted. 

With that Fred pulled out the rest of the contents of his backpack and set up a DVD player and projector so that they could all watch the show together. 

* * *

As the heroes watched the faded black and white video, a figure stood just out of sight within the hallway and proceeded to peer at them instead. Said figure kicked away a forgotten starfish that the clean up crew had missed in disdain. It would appear the boy had already figured out how to build a spatial portal. That meant time was starting to run out; plans would have to be accelerated soon lest the window of opportunity was missed completely. 


	13. A Work of Art

Varian was just putting away the last piece of the portal when Honey Lemon burst through the lab door. He and the rest of their friends were packing up his stuff to move into his new private laboratory. Having disassembled the device yesterday, he planned on moving everything today and to start rebuilding upon the morrow. If all went well, he could have his invention up and running again by Friday. 

Honey Lemon however took no notice of the task her friends were currently busy with. She was far too excited about the news she had to share while she waved two small slips of paper in the air. 

"Guess what I have?!" She exclaimed in a singsong voice and, before anybody could answer, blurted out, "Tickets to the newest exhibit at the San Fansokyo Art Museum! Who wants to come with?!" 

"Ah..gee, that sounds great, Honey Lemon buuuut…." Hiro searched the lab looking for an excuse, his eyes landing on Wasabi who stood next to him, "Wasabi and I have a group project to do this week."

"We do?" 

Hiro gave Wasabi a nudge in the ribs.

"Oh! Oh, we do!" Wasabi caught on and collaborated with his friend's lie. "Big project. We'll be busy with it all this week and possibly the weekend." 

Honey Lemon narrowed her eyes and gave them a pout, clearly not believing them. They however could only nervously laugh and held onto their plastered grins. 

Honey Lemon shrugged. "Oh well I'm sure someone else will go with me, liiike my best friend, perhaps?" She leaned in close to Gogo as she said this and gave her a big smile. 

But Gogo wasn't having any of it. 

"No." She said and turned back to packing. 

Honey Lemon's face fell. She looked about the room to see who was left. "Freddie?" 

"Sorry, Honey Lemon," Fred answered. "I'd love to, but after the museum found out I was the one behind the water fountain incident I've been banned from the building." 

"Won't anyone go with me to see the Da Vinci exhibit?" She wailed in exasperation. 

Varian's ears perked up. "Da Vinci? As in _Leonardo da Vinci_? The famous painter and inventor!?" 

Honey Lemon inhaled in renewed excitement as she began to regain hope. "Yes! They have a bunch of his paintings on loan from Paris." 

"Oh, oh, do they have his blueprints for a flying machine on display?" Varian asked, his own excitement now beginning to match hers. 

"Uh huh! They even have the Mona Lisa!" She squealed. "Do you wanna come?" 

"Would I?!" He breathlessly laughed. 

"Yaaaay!" Honey Lemon hopped up and down repeatedly, barely unable to restrain her excitement. She then grabbed Varian into a big hug catching him off guard. He was still in a daze when she pulled away. 

"We'll meet up at the bus stop after school tomorrow, okay?" 

"Okay." Varian agreed hazily. He still hadn't gotten used to the girl's exuberant nature. 

"I can't wait!" She gave another squee and hurried off to her next class. 

* * *

Varian and Honey Lemon stood in line at the exhibit, waiting to get in. 

"Wow! Sure is a lot of people." Varian commented. 

"I know right?" Honey Lemon agreed. "The exhibit is only here for this week and then it's going down to L.A. I had to rush to get the tickets before they sold out. Everyone wants to see the Mona Lisa." 

"The what?" 

Honey Lemon looked at him in surprise. "Only the most popular painting in the world! It's a portrait of a noblewoman named Lisa Gherardini and its sooo expensive. They hardly ever let it out of the Louvre. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I can't believe I'm going to see it in person!" Once again Honey Lemon squealed with joy, clapping her hands and jumping up and down repeatedly. 

Varian still wasn't sure what the big deal was, but he found her enthusiasm infectious anyways. An enthusiasm which only grew as they made their way into the exhibition hall. The line wrapped around the room, stopping at each picture, and ending at the famed painting that everyone came to see. 

Varian starred in breathless wonder at the various sketches and notes that lined the wall. He had only heard about most of them through reputation and through a small misprinted copy of the artist's notebook that he managed to snag off a traveling spice trader when he was thirteenth. Some of the pages had been smudged in the printing process and there were surprisingly few illustrations by the original creator within. 

But here he could see them in person and up close. He marveled at the blueprints for an underwater breathing device, swooned over the detailed anatomy studies, and practically cried with joy when he came upon the sketches for the infamous flying machine. The inventor could never get it to work, but the concept itself was fascinating to Varian. 

He continued to drool over the diagram, trying to commit it to memory, until Honey Lemon pulled on his arm excitedly. 

"Oooh, we're next! Come on!" She exclaimed. 

They were only behind about three or four people and Varian could peer over their shoulders to see a portrait of a well to do woman, with dark hair, sitting in front of a landscape. 

"I don't get it," Varian questioned out loud, "all of these magnificent inventions and scientific studies and all anyone cares about is a painting of some woman? Did she do something important or something?" 

"Hmmm...honestly not much is known about the real Mona Lisa. She's mostly famous for the painting itself." Honey Lemon answered."But I think that's the point. She's so… mysterious. Everyone wants to know why she has that small smile on her face. Is she happy? Is she sad? Is she in love and putting on a brave face because she can't be with the handsome painter she's fallen for ‘cause of class division?" 

"Or is she just constipated?" Varian snarkily interjected, snapping Honey Lemon out of her romantic musings. Honey Lemon gave him a frown, clearly not appreciating his attempts at humor. He cleared his throat in embarrassment and was about to say sorry, when the people in front of them moved and they now had a clear view of the picture. 

All of Honey Lemon's annoyance melted away as she became enamored with the painting once more. 

"I can't believe I'm standing in front of the Mona Lisa!" She squeaked. She quickly pulled out her phone and took a quick snap of it with both him and her in the photo before turning back to gawk at the portrait. 

"Look at the craftsmanship, the colors, the detail! How could you not love this?" She fawned over the image.

"I mean, yeah, it's well made. But at the end of the day it's just something a rich person paid him to paint." He gently pulled her out of the way of the next group of people who wanted a turn to look at the portrait and walked her back over to the blueprints of the flying machine he had been admiring earlier, careful not to get in the way of the crowded line. 

"Now this...this is a masterpiece." He breathlessly said and now it was his turn to geek out. "This something that the artist wanted to draw; to create! No commissions, no annoying noblemen telling him what to do, just pure science and discovery." 

He looked back and saw Honey Lemon tilt her head and give him a curious look. He suddenly felt self conscious, even though she herself had been practically bouncing off the walls just a few moments ago. 

"I think I understand." She said thoughtfully, "you admire it cause it's a reflection of the artist's innermost thoughts and you can relate to him, right?" 

"Uh...yeah I guess." Varian rubbed the back of his head. He hadn't ever thought of it that way before, he was just interested in the potential applications of the device, or so he thought. But upon considering her words it made some sense to him. He always did admire famous scientists and inventors because he felt a certain kinship to them. No one else in his village had understood his love of science and he had often wished to meet such masters of the craft if only to have someone to talk to about his interests. 

Honey Lemon flashed him a knowing smile, and Varian suddenly felt like an ass. Here before him was such a person. Someone who was genuinely trying to understand his point of view and how had he repaid her? By dismissing her passion for something she loved. 

"Look, I'm sorry if I insulted your favorite painting. It's cool if you like it, even if I don't understand it." He rubbed the side of his arm, not looking directly at her, unsure of how she'd respond. 

"Oh it's okay." She cheerfully chirped. Varian looked back at her in surprise but she only gave him a warm smile and continued on. "I'm just excited to be so close to such an important piece of history, but it's not my favorite." 

"It's not?"

"Nuh - uh" 

"Then what is your favorite?" 

Honey Lemon bit her lip as if unsure she should answer. 

"Do, do you really want to know?" She asked hesitantly. 

Varian nodded his head encouragingly. She stood there undecided for a moment more before quickly grabbing his hand and dragging him out of the exhibition hall. Varian was surprised at the sudden action but he allowed himself to be led along down the various winding hallways of the maze-like building. 

She pulled him into another gallery room, this one far away from the crowds. She let go of his hand and ran up to a large long painting up on the opposite wall. 

"Ta-da!" She sang and gestured wildly at the picture indicating this was the one she had wanted him to see. "City Rising by Lenore Shimamoto." 

Varian walked over to join her and to gain a better view. The picture was a landscape painting of San Fansokyo. Only the city looked to be under construction and was silhouetted against the sunset. 

"Lenore Shimamoto is kind of my hero." Honey Lemon explained. "She was also an inventor and painter just like Da Vinci. She helped to rebuild the city after the great earthquake of 1906." She then paused and sheepishly added. "An earthquake she may have, kind of, caused." 

"Wait, she destroyed a whole city!?" Varian incredulously asked.

"Weeelll, she didn't do it on purpose." Honey Lemon excused. "She was experimenting with new kinds of energy and it went...wrong. She spent her whole life trying to make up for her mistake, and in the end she wound up making things better for a lot of people." 

Varian looked back at the painting with a newly found appreciation. 

"I now instantly relate to this woman." He exclaimed. 

"You mean because of what happened Monday?" Honey Lemon asked, referring to the flooding he had caused with his portal. 

"That and ... other … things." He swallowed, unable to explain further than that. 

"I get it." She sympathized. "One time I stained the whole bathroom pink." 

Varian snorted with laughter. "What!?" 

Honey Lemon let out a sigh before explaining. "I was trying to quickly break down metals using chemical compounds. You know, a bit of cobalt, hydrogen peroxide, some perchloric acid all super heated together and it can turn a hard substance like tungsten carbide into ash!" 

Varian's mouth hung open in awe. Disintegrating a hard metal into dust in an instant was a break-taking feat of chemical engineering and he was reminded just how smart the tall girl truly was. He now had a billion questions to ask her but the only thing that would come out of his mouth was a statement of admiration. 

"Amazing." He breathed. 

Honey Lemon blushed at that before continuing with her story. "Only the bit of metal I was working with kind of exploded when I touched it and it splattered all over my mother's bathroom. Everything is now stained pink; the walls, the sink, the ceiling, the bathtub. You name it, and it won't come out. I must have scrubbed the whole room for days." She bemoaned. "Mama was furious." 

Varian could only laugh. It wasn't as though he found her misfortune funny, so much as he found it relatable. It sounded so much like something that could have happened to him at some point. 

Honey Lemon didn't seem to mind though and joined him in his merriment. "You should have heard her." She said through her laughter. "Amanda, what did I tell you about experimenting in the house? !Sinceramente, ¿qué voy a hacer contigo hija? No more beakers in the bathroom!" Her accent became stronger as she wagged her finger in the air and tried to mimic the woman who raised her. This sent them both into another fit of giggles.

Once Varian had caught his breath he gave a mock groan. "Ooooh, I know how that is. Sometimes I think my dad would be much happier if I never touched a chemistry set again." 

"But it's not like you can ever just..stop." Honey Lemon said quietly. She was no longer looking at him but at the painting, as if musing over some great fundamental truth. 

"It's like there's, just this, this itch that you have to scratch. You get an idea and it just goes around and around in your brain in circles and if you don't _make_ whatever is in your head _right_ then you'll just... explode!"

It was a bit of a hyperbolic description, but it struck a chord with Varian nonetheless. He followed her gaze back to the painting before hesitantly adding his own commentary. 

"And … sometimes when you're in the middle of creating your idea you just.. get lost, and don't fully realize what else is going on around you." 

"Yeah! And you just can't wait to make it real so you can show it off to everyone." The words were tumbling out of her now. "Cause it's not like anybody can see what's in your head, right? But you want everyone to know, to see, because… well because…" 

She was beginning to fumble as she searched for the right words to conclude her ramble, however Varian finished for her. 

"Because maybe then they'll _see_ you too." He said quietly, still looking at the painting. 

She stopped in surprise and turned to look at him, as if just now noticing he was even there. He finally turned back to her and their eyes met. 

"Uh...yeah." She breathed, now at a loss for words completely. He had hit upon something very raw and real that she didn't like to normally think about too much. They stood transfixed for a moment more before Varian broke the silence. 

"Wow!" He whispered and gave a little breathless laugh. "I.. I never met anybody who could put it into words before, what it's like, to just..just be an inventor and to love science so much...and explain why." 

Now it was his turn to fumble over his words.She blushed at the sudden declaration and began to self consciously play with a strand of her hair.

He trailed off, still unable to look away from her. It was as if he was truly seeing her for the first time and all he could do to express his new found admiration was to give her a dopey smile. 

"I'm not making any sense am I?" He laughed awkwardly. 

"Oh, no, you're making perfect sense," She reassured, "well as about as much sense as I am. Which, according to some people, isn't a whole lot admittedly." She joined in with her own awkward laugh. "Abue is always calling me his little soñadora." 

"Abue?" Varian asked, confused. 

"Oh! My grandfather." She explained. "Abue is short for abuelo." 

"Ahh." Varian slowly nodded his head as realization dawned on him and Honey Lemon continued on about her family. 

"Yup, it's just me, my mama, abue, and my three younger brothers." 

"Sounds like you have a big family. That must be nice." 

"Yeah, it is, though it could sometimes get crowded in just our three bedroom house. Hence, why I always snuck in the bathroom to do experiments. Otherwise my brothers would never let me get anything done." She rolled her eyes at that, mentally recalling all the times her siblings crashed through her work space or got in the way of what she was trying to do. 

"Yeah, now there I can't relate. I never had siblings growing up. It was always just me and my dad, and the big old empty castle we lived in." 

Honey Lemon gasped and brought her hands up to her face in excitement, "You grew up in a _castle_ !?" She squealed. "Oh, what was it like!? Were there any tapestries? Did you hold dances and banquets? Wait, are you a _prince_!?" 

"What?!" Varian exclaimed, completely knocked for loop by her questions. 

“Uuuh… drafty, a few, usually never, and no, just, no.” He listed off the brief answers before explaining further. “Old Corona used to be the capital hundreds of years ago, before they moved it to the island port. My dad is the leader of the village, so we live in the old castle, but it’s nothing special or fancy or anything. There’s no servants, just us, and the whole place is kind of worn down. There’s always something that needs to be cleaned or repaired. You’re more thinking of the palace in Corona itself. That’s the ‘new’ capital. It’s got all of those things, except replace ‘prince’ with ‘princess’ and there ya go.” 

“You met, a real, live princess?!” Honey Lemon blurted out. Like many young women, Honey Lemon had grown up on stories about fairy-tale princesses, castles, knights in shining amour, and charming princes. She couldn’t help her romantic nature from taking over and filling her head full of picturesque images of balls and courtly chivalry. She could just imagine Varian kneeling before a beautiful girl in a long flowing gown and declaring his undying love and loyalty, just like in all of the old movies she’d seen growing up.

“What was she like?” Honey Lemon asked eagerly.

Varian pouted and mulled over the question before answering. 

“Not very nice.” He finally said.” Not as nice as she pretended to be, anyways.” 

He left things there and declined to explain any further. Honey Lemon’s face fell and she could have kicked herself for being so stupid. Of course Varian wasn’t some fairy-tale prince. He was a real person and so was the aforementioned princess, and sometimes real people didn’t get along. There was no telling what had transpired between the two of them; a bad breakup perhaps, or maybe she was just a rude individual since the start? But whatever the reason, it was clear Varian had been deeply hurt by what had occurred as he looked off to the middle distance forlornly. 

Honey Lemon racked her brain for a way to cheer him up. 

“Hey, you know what?” She said, “We should go get some ice cream after this.” 

“Ice cream?” Varian asked confused,”What’s ice cream?”

“You’ve never had ice cream before!?” She asked incredulously and he shook his head.

“Oh my gosh, it’s only the best thing ever!” And with that she once again grabbed him by the hand and excitedly pulled him along, eager to share with him the frozen treat that was always sure to make things better. 

* * *

Varian took another bite out of his ice cream cone, trying, and failing, not to get any on his nose. The treat was just like its namesake, cold, sweet, and creamy. He’d never had anything like it before. The occasional snow mixed with winter berries, was the closest thing he could think of. But that was only during the cold months and it lacked the texture and the multitude of flavors that this had. 

In fact Varian was flabbergasted to see just how many different kinds of ice cream there were. He poured over the list of flavors at the ice cream shop, overwhelmed and confused by some of the naming conventions.

“Rocky Road? Why would anyone eat dirt?” 

“That just means there's nuts in it.” Honey Lemon explained helpfully. 

“Then why not just say that? ‘Rocky Road’ doesn’t sound very appetizing.”

Eventually he decided to go with what he knew and ordered plain vanilla. Though it was a testament to this world’s abundance that something as rare and expensive as vanilla was ever considered ‘plain.’ Still, it was just as tasty as ever. 

“...Annnd that’s how I got kicked out of student housing.”Honey Lemon finished her story about another chemistry accident she had had. They had come to the bus stop and were now waiting for the public transit to arrive as they finished their ice cream. She took the last bite of her own dessert and threw the cup away in the trash. She turned around and then asked Varian if he had any stories to share. 

Varian was caught off guard once again. He didn’t want to delve too deeply into his past, so he offered up one of the lesser damaging scenarios. 

‘Ummm...I once set the barn on fire. I was trying to make an automatic plowing machine for my dad, but turns out grease fires and hay shouldn’t mix.’ He joked sarcastically.

Honey Lemon gave him an empathetic smile, crinkling up her nose and closing her eyes in that adorable way that she sometimes did. Varian felt his pulse quicken at the sight and he quickly shoveled the rest of his ice cream cone into his mouth to stop himself from saying or doing anything foolish. 

Fortunately the bus then arrived, interrupting their conversion. 

* * *

Varian stepped off the bus and turned around to wave goodbye to Honey Lemon. The public transport had arrived back at the college where they had begun their day together, but she was going to continue on and head back to the apartment she shared with Gogo. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow!” She yelled through the window as the vehicle pulled away. 

She continued to wave at him until the vehicle was out of sight and Varian found himself holding his breath and mimicking the action. Once he could no longer see the pretty redhead and was sure she was out of ear shot, Varian let out a whoop of laughter and joyously spun around.

He’d never had an experience like the one today. He’d had crushes before, sure, but not like this. He’d never met someone he could relate to so much and the time spent with her was exhilarating. It was certainly the most successful conversion he’d ever had with someone near his age. 

He made his way back to the dormitories, humming a cheery tune as he went and grinning like a maniac. Maybe she'd like to hang out again sometime, just the two of them, like today. Varian began to think of things he might invite her along too, but he soon stopped in his tracks as a nagging thought encroached upon his mind. 

What was the point of trying to get closer to her, to anybody, if all he was going to do was leave soon. 

_You don’t have to leave you know._ Another more tempting voice told him. 

_But Dad.._ he argued. 

Varian just stood there in the middle sidewalk at war with himself, unsure what to do now. Until a third thought entered his mind. Why not both? Why couldn’t he go back, rescue his dad, and then return with him here? It wasn’t like either of them had anything left in Corona now, and if he could find a way to reconnect the two worlds a second time, why not a third?

The nagging voice of doubt tried to tell him he was being overly optimistic, that people didn’t always get what they wanted, that reconnecting the worlds was proving to be more challenging then he initially had thought, but he stubbornly shoved it down. He wasn’t willing to let go of this near perfect day, not just yet. 

Sure he’d done some bad things in his past but didn’t deserve just a little happiness? Didn’t he deserve a chance at a normal life after over a year and a half of horror and misery? Why couldn’t he have an education, friends, and maybe, just maybe, a little bit of romance? He was sixteen afterall, and even if it wasn’t with Honey Lemon specifically, as he didn’t know for sure how she felt about him, he was still old enough now to start dating. 

With his decision made he continued to head back to the dorm, now marching along with new resolve and running over plans in his mind. 

He opened the door to the dorm-room and was met by the sight of Wasabi and Ruddiger fighting again. His pet was wrestling to get out of Wasabi's grip while the taller teen was covered in claw marks and feathers from one of his pillows. Now ripped to shreds and lying discarded on the floor.

Upon seeing him, Wasabi stormed over holding Ruddiger by the scruff of his neck indicating that Varian should take the raccoon away from him. 

“Look, man, I love you, but I _hate_ this raccoon.” He glowered and then deposited Ruddiger into Varian’s arms. Wasabi then stormed out of the room without further explanation.

Varian gave his pet a stern look. So much for a perfect day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if my Spanish is off. I'm not a naive speaker.  
> Speaking of Spanish, Honey Lemon's ethnicity was changed from Japanese to Latina in the movie. As such I changed her comic name from 'Aiko' which means hope in Japanese, to 'Amanda' which also means hope but is Spanish.


	14. Bot Fighting

Varian stood outside the convenience store next to the trolley stop, bags in hand. He'd had run out of minutes on his cell phone and Wasabi had lent him some money to buy a new phone card and a few other items he needed. 

Varian gave a frustrated sigh and looked at his watch. The tram was running late and he was getting tired of standing in the heat of the day. But he was even more annoyed that he had to ask to borough money again. 

Varian had been in this new world for three weeks now and while the full scholarship Professor Granville had given him granted most of the necessities he needed, such as student housing, free meals at the school cafeteria, free credit at the college store for school supplies and textbooks, and even a student pass for the city's public transit, it didn't cover extras like his phone bill or anything else he might want to buy. 

He had tried to get a part time job like his friends, but that was proving to be a difficult task. Most of the applications he'd had put in online he wouldn't ever hear back from and the few he'd applied to in person got turned down almost immediately. Usually either sighting his age or his student visa as cause for not hiring him. 

He was just thinking of some other options to make money when a man dressed in leather and riding on a motorcycle pulled up. The man parked the bike, got up, and taped a piece of paper to the pole of the bus sign. 

Curious Varian peered over the man's shoulder to read the flier.

BOT FIGHT TONIGHT 

WINNER

$5,000 GRAND PRIZE 

Call 'Louie' for details. 

"Uh, excuse me, but are you 'Louie?' Varian politely asked.

"Who wants to know?" Was the man's reply. 

"Well, umm, what's a bot fight?" 

The man looked surprised. "You really don't know?"

Varian shook his head.

The other man narrowed his eyes. "You wouldn't be pulling my leg now would ya?" 

Varian shook his head no a second time.

"It's a competition. Competitors pit the robots they've built against each other. First robot down or destroyed loses." 

"Can anyone join?" 

"So long as you got a bot and some cash you can." 

"Cash? You mean for like an entry fee?" Varian grew disappointed. He was sure he could win a competition like that with ease but he didn't have much money left. "How much money do you need?" Varian asked against all hope.

"Depends, how much do ya got?" 

Varian dug into his pocket. "Uh… Ten dollars." 

"Hmm… well that's a start anyways. Here ya go kid and good luck." 

The man gave Varian a small business card with the name of a restaurant, directions, and a phone number. 

"It starts at 6 pm. But get there earlier if possible to sign up." And with that the man got back on his bike and drove away.

* * *

Varian raced back to his lab as soon as the bus let him off. He had called the number on the business card and the woman over the phone told him the rules of the game. Turns out there was a height and weight limit to the robots allowed to enter, so he would only need to build a small automaton to fight with. He could whip one up in a couple of hours, he was sure. 

Once he had finished crafting the miniaturized war machine he headed back to the dorms to drop off his purchases and prepare to head out. Wasabi wasn’t there when Varian arrived, otherwise Varian would have invited him along. His friend apparently had a group project that he was working on after school. So Varian simply left him a note telling the other teen where he had gone. 

“Hey Ruddgier, sorry to keep you cooped up here all day but I’m afraid they won't allow raccoons at the bot fight.” Varian scratched behind his pet’s ears. “But I did get you a present while I was out.” 

Varian pulled out a bag full of apples and Ruddiger practically crawled all over him trying get at his favorite treat. 

“Okay, Okay,” Varian laughed. “You can have some.” He put the bag inside the kennel, he didn’t have the heart to lock the cage’s door though. He hoped the fruit would be enough to keep his pet busy and out of trouble until Wasabi returned that afternoon. 

“I gotta go now, so be good, okay, buddy.” Varian ordered, and with that he grabbed his coat and mini automaton and headed out the door. 

* * *

“Guys, we have a problem!” Wasabi burst through the Big Hero Six headquarters waving a note in the air. 

“I’ll say, Roddy still hasn’t finished the wiring!” Fred said ruefully, not paying attention to his friend. 

“Hey, you can’t rush fine craftsmanship.” Said a large man hanging from the rafters. He was dressed in overalls and had a bushy red beard. In his hands were wires and a soldering iron. 

Fred had been insisting that the gang needed a HQ to work out of for months. None of the other members had thought it necessary, but they finally rentleted when Fred offered to pay for the whole thing using an old abandon candy factory his family owned and a well respected architect known for building superhero lairs named Roddy. The jury was still out on weather or not this was a good decision but it tended to keep Fred out of trouble so the gang thought it worth it in the end. 

“No not that! This!” Wasabi yelled and shoved the note into Fred’s face. 

“Dear Wasabi, gone to a bot fight. Would have invited you but you were busy. See you later tonight. Signed Varian.” Fred read. 

“Oh no.” Gogo groaned. “He doesn't know bot fights are illegal.” 

‘We have to find him,” Hiro said with determination,”before he gets himself into trouble.” 

“Should we suit up?” Honey Lemon asked. 

Hiro turned down the idea. “No, we don't wanna start a fight and risk having Varian or others caught in the middle.” The rest of the gang huddled around him as he strategized a plan. “Now they tend to rotate where the fights are held into order to evade the police so we’re going to need to split up. There’s at least five possible places in Good Luck Alley alone so, Gogo you take the Red Room. Wasabi hit up the Union Sports Bar. Honey Lemon, I need you to check out the Koi; that’s like a spa but it’s got a hidden arena underneath. Fred there’s the usual warehouse on second street and Baymax and I will head to Louie’s. They know me there so it’ll be easier for me to get in.” 

“And remember, we’re only going there to get Varian, so find him and then leave. Nothing else.” Gogo admonished looking right at Hiro when she said this. 

Hiro looked hurt but he understood where Gogo was coming from. He loved the sport, but it had caused enough trouble in his life and he didn't need any more of that. 

“Okay, any more questions? Good. Then we’ll meet back up in front of the Good Luck Arcade and then go from there.” And with that the gang headed out to search for their friend. 

* * *

Hiro peered around the corner of the building and down a short alleyway to see the flashing neon sign advertising the restaurant. A burly man guarded the doorway and was checking individuals over before allowing them in. 

“Okay, Baymax,” Hiro said turning back to his faithful companion, “I don't think the bouncer is going to let you in so you wait right here and if I’m not out in an hour call the others, alright?” 

“I do not think it is a good idea for you to go in alone, but if you insist I will wait right here.” The robot blinked his coal black eyes and dutifully stood to attention on the sidewalk. 

“Don’t worry, they know me here, it’ll be fine. Thanks Baymax.” And with that Hiro walked over to towards the guard.

“Ya here to fight or to watch?” Asked the tall man. 

“Watch; I wanna get to know the competition.” Hiro lied. This seemed to satisfy the bouncer and after paying the man ten bucks Hiro was allowed entrance. 

The restaurant was crowded with spectators and dimly lit. Chairs were sacked and tables were pushed out of the way to make room for the event, with a single spot light hanging down on a short stage at the back. Though Hiro couldn’t see who was competing at the moment due to the all the people standing in the way. 

“What are _you_ doing here?” came an annoyed voice behind him and Hiro turned around to see who it was. A tall, lanky woman with an eye patch and hair piled high up on her head in a bun glowered over him. 

“Hi Fujita.” Hiro gulped. “Look I’m not here to cause any trouble, I’m just looking for a friend. Have you seen him? He’s about my age, so high, has black hair with a blue streak in it, and he usually wears goggles.” 

The woman rolled her eyes as she recognized the description. “You mean the new champ? He’s on stage right now.” She stuck her thumb out and gestured towards the back before walking off to collect bets for the next match. 

Hiro thanked her and started to push his way through the crowd. He saw Varian sitting cross legged on the small stage, with a pile of cash next to him and fiddling with a bot. Varían spotted him as soon as he made it to edge of the platform. 

‘Oh, Hiro! Hey!” Varian exclaimed a huge grin splitting his face. “I’m glad you could make it. Look how much money I made!” He gleefully held up a wad of cash. “Now I got a enough money to pay everyone back; for everything, the phone, the clothes, and even that book you bought me. Here.” 

Varian handed Hiro the money and Hiro was at a lost for words. His new friend was so earnest, so sincere, and so completely oblivious to the den of debauchery he was currently in. It would have been comical if not for the fact that Hiro knew first hand just how quickly things could go wrong here. 

“What!? No! First, that was a present, you don't need to pay me back, and second we need to get out of here, now.” Hiro said firmly. 

Varian looked at him with wide eyes.”But why? I’m _winning_!” He laughed. 

Hiro made to answer but was interrupted by Fujita coming up on stage and announcing the next match. 

“Now folks, it’s time for the final round!’ She enthusiastically yelled. “Yama versus the new kid, Varían!” The crowd cheered as a large heavy set man dressed in a sweat suit appeared from behind the curtain.

Hiro’s heart skipped a beat as he recognized the mob boss. Things were getting out hand now; time to call back up. Hiro stepped off to the side and pulled out his phone to text Wasabi when a muscle bound goon stanched it out of his hand. 

“Hey! Give it back!” He yelled and jumped up to make a grab for it. But the thug was too tall for the short teen and held the device high above his head. 

“No cell phones.” He growled and Hiro slunk back over to the stage. 

His despondent mood turned quickly to curiosity though when he saw what Varian was up to. 

The time-displaced teen was winding up a crank on the back of his robot. He set the machine down and it began to jerkily walk forward as a creepy music box like melody played. 

Yama starred at the dinky looking bot for a moment before bursting out in raucous laughter. “You gotta be kidding me. You’re going to fight me with a little wind up doll!? Bwahaha. What is this a bot fight or a toy tournament!? Someone get me a real competitor.” 

Varian gave the man a smirk. “What’s the matter? A big man like you afraid of a little toy?” He sarcastically taunted and Yama looked like he was about to burst a vein in anger. 

“It’s on, you little twerp!” The mob boss roared and Hiro grimaced. This wasn’t going to end well. 

* * *

Baymax stood dutifully on the sidewalk corner. His internal clock ticking down the minutes until the hour was up, when he would then be needed to call upon the others. Hiro still had a good twenty minutes left though and Baymax's hadn't been alerted to any other emergencies. 

Just then the robot's auditory sensors picked up the whirring sound of sirens coming closer. Three patrol cars pulled up to the sidewalk in front of the restaurant he was standing next too. 

"Oh no." Baymax bemoaned.

* * *

Hiro was beside himself. On the one hand, Varian was winning. On the other hand, Varian was winning. 

Yama was a sore loser who got to the top by stepping on others. If Varian lost the fight he would owe money that he simply didn't have. If he won, then Yama would probably tell his goons to beat them both up and take the money anyway. Either outcome more or less ended with a trip to the emergency room for one of them unless Hiro could get his friend out of there quickly. 

That was easier said than done since all eyes were on the young alchemist at the moment, including Hiro's. 

Varian's robot was a marvel. Hiro didn't know what the thing was made of but it was near indestructible. It ran on pre-programmed instructions and didn't need the use of a remote unlike the other bots. Therefore it's movements were more clunky but it's blows hit harder. Just chipping away chucks of its opponent with each connecting hit. Moreover, on the rare occasions Yama's bot was able to land in it's own blow, it would only wind up damaging itself in the process while Varian's bot remained unscathed. 

Soon enough Yama's robot sputtered and sparked and then shut down and Varian was proclaimed the winner. 

"Awe, too bad." The goggle wearing teen gloated while he shoveled money into his pockets. "Maybe you'll win next time, hun?" 

Yama just glared at Varian from across the stage and Hiro could sense the mob boss's thugs crowding closer around them. Hiro climbed up on the stage and started to tug at his friends sleeve. 

"Okaay. Time to get going then." He nervously said while his friend still gathered up his things. 

“What’s the rush?” Said the minion who had stolen Hiro’s phone earlier. He now stood right behind the two boys blocking their exit.

“Oh no rush, but it’s not like he has anything left to fight with?” Varian snickered, still unaware of the danger they were in. 

“Oh don’t I?” Yama replied, cracking his knuckles into a fist and standing to his full height. Varian visibly shrank at the sight, “Heeey, now, I thought this was just a friendly competition.” He nervously laughed. “No need to get bend out of shape. Am I right, Louie?” Varian turned to tall goon behind them, looking for backup. None came. 

Varian gulped, “Fujita?”. But the tall woman made no move to help either. He looked around wide eyed, desperately hunting for a friendly face. 

“Sorry, kid nothing personal,” said ‘Louie’, “but Yama pays the light bill.” 

“Oh.” Varian hollowly said as realization finally dawned on him. 

Hiro stepped in, “Look, you can keep the money. We just don't want any trouble.”

“Awe, too bad,” Yama threw back Varian’s words, “but, hey maybe next time you’ll know better?” And with that Varian and Hiro braced themselves as the gang started to surround them. 

Just when Hiro thought things couldn’t get worse, the cops busted down the door. 

“Everyone, hands up! This a raid!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The name for the ringleader in the movie is never mentioned, but in deleted concept art she was a member of the Fujita sisters and was called the Fujita woman by the artists


	15. The Arrest

Hiro was familiar with the routine of being arrested. The act of having handcuffs slapped on him and being placed in a waiting room next to a holding cell until his aunt could pick him up, didn't bother him. It was the thought of what would come after that made him nervous. 

This was the second time he'd gotten into trouble for bot fighting in the past six months. He had tried so hard to do better since Tadashi's death, but he still somehow fell short. No matter his excuse, Aunt Cass was going to be furious. Worse than that, she was going to be disappointed. 

The thought of letting her down, especially after seeing her go through so much recently, made his stomach churn and his mind race with worry. So of course his anxiety only went through the roof when his new friend decided to not to take the arrest seriously. 

Varian was all smiles, full of charming wit and seemingly benign curiosity. He aimlessly talked with the police and with the fellow criminals equally, not caring that most ignored his friendly chatter nor for the fact that half of them were willing to kill him only moments ago. 

"Hey, would you look at this cell?" Varian cheerfully asked no one in particular as he peered through the bars at one of the empty jail cells. He held onto the iron bars with both hands, leading back on his heels and swung his head back towards Hiro and the police officer with them. "These are a lot nicer then the ones in Corona. They even got toilets! Which one do we get?" He flashed them both a wide grin and Hiro could only look at him in confused horror. 

Sergeant Gerson wasn't amused. "Are either of you, of, or over the age of eighteen?" He asked in a tired voice as he removed Hiro's handcuffs. 

"No." 

"Then you'll both wait out here until your parents or legal guardian can come and bail you out. The holding cells are for adults only." Gerson drone on. 

"You mean you don't arrest people under eighteen?" Varian asked in disbelief. 

"Oh you're still under arrest alright," The sergeant explained, "but we don't put minors into jail cells." 

Now it was Varian's turn to look confused. "Not ever? Not even if they do something really bad, like theft or something?" 

"Nope. This is just the police station. You're here until you pay bail or are released. If charges are pressed, you then have to go to court and there your sentence is decided. Typically minors are sent to a juvenile correction facility if their crime is severe enough." 

Varian turned his eyes upwards and screwed his lips in thought as he tried to process this new information. "You mean that there's a dungeon just for children?" He asked slowly. 

"If you wanna call it that, sure." Gerson shrugged. He was a little surprised by the kid's wording but then again too tired to care. He'd been in the force for ages and was getting on in years so he just chalked it up to 'kids these days and their slang.' 

As Gerson removed Varian's own cuffs, the teen mulled over the differences between the justice system here and in Corona. “Weeell.. What if the kid in question does something really, really, bad, like murder? Do they still go to this ‘juvenile correction facility’?” 

“Depends,” Gerson shrugged, “what state are we talking about and what degree of murder?” 

Varian rubbed his wrists of his now free hands. He wasn’t sure what a ‘degree of murder’ was so he simply asked, “Uhhh… assassination?”

“Well now, then you’d go to federal court, that is, ‘ Gerson paused and looked around,’ if the CIA doesn’t get you first.” he whispered conspiratorially. 

“Ahhh… the elite guard.” Varian concluded as if he knew exactly what the CIA meant. 

“Uhhh, can we change the subject now?” Hiro interrupted. He stood off to the side looking back and forth between the two of them nervously. Sergeant Gerson may have thought of Varian as just nothing more than some weird precocious kid, but Hiro knew there was more to it than that. His friend was asking all these questions because he genuinely didn’t know anything about their justice system, but the subject of the questions, paired with the glib way Varian asked them, unnerved Hiro. 

Fortunately, Hiro was spared any more uncomfortable conversions about the nature of the American justice system when Chief Officer Cruz walked in. 

‘Hiro, your aunt has been called and she’s on her way. You can wait out in the lobby for her instead.” he said. “As for your friend, I have a few questions about his records. If you’ll follow me.” Cruz indicated that Varian should come with him and the boys filed out of the holding room followed by Sergeant Gerson.

“Bye, Louie!” Varian called out and waved at the cell full of criminals as he left. 

The last thing Hiro saw before the door closed was ‘Louie’ giving a little wave back in surprise only for his boss, Yama, to smack him in the back of the head for being friendly to the kid that had humiliated him earlier.

* * *

Hiro sat waiting in the lobby of the police station as he swung his heels together nervously, his feet still not quite reaching the floor yet. Sergeant Gerson had moved back to his customary place behind the front desk and was busying himself with paperwork. Meanwhile, he could see the silhouettes of Varian and Chief Cruz behind the frosted window pane of the office door. He couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but Cruz had mentioned something about records. Hiro could only hope that Professor Granville had been thorough enough in forging Varian’s documents. 

Just then the door opened and Varian sauntered out, still looking as unperturbed by the arrest as ever. He turned back around to face the chief of police again though, as Cruz continued to ask him questions. 

“And you’re sure you haven’t any legal guardian or adult sponsor here in the states?” He pressed. 

Varian just shrugged and paused as if an idea just struck him “My college roommate is nineteen, does that count?” he offered. 

“Hardly.” was Cruz’s annoyed response. Student visa or no, Cruz wasn’t comfortable with the idea of a minor being abroad without any adult supervision, and he couldn’t believe that the kid had gotten past customs with just a college acceptance letter. Well, no, he could believe it, he just didn’t approve of it. Who was the kid to call upon when he needed help? Like now, for instance. 

Cruz was just contemplating calling the head of the university, to give the woman a piece of his mind if nothing else, when Hiro’s aunt burst through the front doors. She spotted Hiro and ran to him first, wrapping him in a big hug. 

“Are you okay?” She asked, as she still held him. 

“I’m..I’m okay.” Hiro admitted not returning the hug, guilt still pricking at his mind. 

Aunt Cass eventually let go of him and walked over to speak to Cruz. She and Cruz had been childhood friends growing up and she owed him a great deal for not throwing the book at her nephew. Hiro was a multiple offender and his age couldn’t shield him from his consequences forever. 

“I am so sorry, Diego, but thank you for calling me first. I’m sure after today Hiro will think twice about bot fighting again.” She said sternly while looking directly at her nephew and Hiro shrunk under her glare. 

“Oh, Hiro wasn't ‘bot fighting. I was.” Varian explained. All three looked at him in surprise as he continued. “I didn’t know that it was illegal and Hiro was only there to warn me. He tried to get me to stop, but I didn’t listen. So it’s my fault, if you want to blame someone. Hiro didn’t do anything wrong.” 

The adults exchanged glances while Hiro only looked at Varian appreciatively. 

“Hiro is this true?” Aunt Cass asked and her nephew nodded yes. 

“He didn’t have a robot on him when arrested.” Cruz admitted, basically confirming Varian’s story. 

“Soo, now what?” Aunt Cass asked looking back to Cruz.

There was another silence as everyone waited for the chief of police’s decision. Cruz heaved a sigh of resignation. “I suppose, given that you’re not from San Fansokyo and are a first time offender, I can let you both go with just a warning this time.” 

Everyone perked up at the news but before they could bestow any gratitude the officer continued. “However, I’m still not comfortable with releasing a minor without an adult on hand to grant custody to.” He gave Varian a stern scowl as he said this. 

“Maybe I could take him?” Aunt Cass gently offered. “I’ll make sure he makes it back to the dorms safely.” 

“Alright then,’ Cruz relented. “I leave him to you Cass.” And with that the chief went back to his office to finish work and the trio made to leave. 

* * *

As they walked out of the building into the late afternoon sun, Varian gave a wide grin and was just about to thank Aunt Cass for helping him, when she whirled around and gave the teen a furious glare. 

“What were you thinking!?” She snapped and for the first time that day Varian’s cheery facade fell away. He stood there stunned by her sudden change in demeanor and hurt by her accusatory question. 

“Get in the car.” She ordered before Varian could offer up any defense and both teens sulkily obeyed.

* * *

Aunt Cass was beside herself with anger and anxiety. There was also another, more disturbing feeling, that she couldn’t quite name at the back of her consciousness, like a cross between a half forgotten nightmare and deja vu. The phone call, the police station, walking out with two teenagers in tow; it all felt eerily familiar and yet somehow, off. 

She was repeating history and yet it wasn’t Tadashi that sat across from her now. She kept glancing over to the dark haired boy slouching in the front seat, reminding herself that it wasn’t actually her child sitting there, back from the grave. 

With a deep breath, she took a look through the rear view mirror to see Hiro sitting in the back. He had just finished texting his friends telling them where he and Varian were at. 

“Is Baymax with them?” She asked. 

“Yeah, he’s with them.” Hiro replied and put his phone back in his pocket. He knew his aunt would want to start lecturing them soon and he knew it’d be best if he paid attention to that. 

“So” Cass asked, “do you want to tell me why you were at the bot fight today?” 

The question was mostly for Varian since he had been the one to participate in the competition, but the teen only remained silent. He instead starred ahead out the windshield not wanting to meet her gaze. 

“Well, I hope you realize now how dangerous and reckless that was. You were incredibly lucky the police showed up when they did, and that Officer Cruz was willing to let you both off with just a warning.” She admonished and gave a meaningful glare at the rear view mirror hoping Hiro would see how serious she was and realize that he too wasn’t fully off the hook. He did see and wiggled uncomfortably in his seat. Varian, however, still gave no indication that her words had reached him. 

“You could have been hurt,” She continued, “or gotten yet another blemish on your record. And for what? Money? Bragging rights? You’re both so smart and have such bright futures ahead of you. Why waste that on a game?” She slammed the brakes hard as they came to a red light, growing more frustrated by the lack of acknowledgment from the blued eyed teen. “Do you have any idea how many times I’ve been down to that police station in the past two years? It’s not a pleasant experience, to know your child is in trouble. It’s.. well, it’s frightening, is what it is. A million questions run through your mind. Are they hurt? Did they hurt someone else? Will they be let back out? Am I going to have to close the shop again? I hope you keep that in mind next time you want to go show off your robot making skills.” 

“Yes ma'am.” Came the hollow whisper from Varian. It was an automatic response, one meant to placate rather than confirm anything the other person had said. Varian wasn’t used to lectures. Even back home when his father would get on to him for something, it was usually just a single order or a weary sigh of disappointment. Quirin had always been a man of few words. Hiro’s aunt however never seemed to run out of words. Had it been anybody else, he may have not cared, but the woman had been so kind to Varian that he now felt nauseous with guilt. 

Aunt Cass blew air out of her nose in exasperation. She wasn’t getting through to him. And why would she? She wasn’t his mother. He barely knew her outside of the few times he’d come over to visit her nephew. There was nothing to it, she’d have to call the boy’s father and let him know what had happened. Though she had no idea what time of day it was in, where was it, Russia, no, Corona? 

“I’d ground both of you if I could, but I can’t. So we’ll just have to call your father once we get back to the cafe.” 

_ That _ got his attention. Varian looked at her wide eyed with fear and even Hiro seemed worried at that. 

“You better have his number ready when we get there. No weaseling out of it.” She ordered. “Just think what your father will say when he knows you’ve been arrested.” 

The face Varian gave her when she said that statement nearly broke her heart. He looked like he was about to cry. But there was no time to dwell on why he was so upset as the light changed to green again and she had to focus on driving instead. However just as the car began to move she heard the sickening sound of a car door opening and feet hitting the payment. 

“Varian!? What are you doing!?” Hiro called out and Aunt Cass turned just in time to see Varian running away from the car and across the street. She froze in horror as the boy dodged oncoming traffic and the cars behind her began to loudly honk their horns, ordering her to move. She only unfroze when she saw Varian make it to the sidewalk, breathing a sigh of relief. Only to sharply inhale again, when she saw him take off running once more down an alleyway and out of sight. 

Her mind raced. What could she do?

“You want me to go after him?” Hiro asked. 

“You stay in this car young man!” She ordered. She wasn’t about to have two children lost in the city. Coming to a decision, she made a U-turn and headed back to the police station. 

* * *

Varian ran. He ran past buildings, parked cars, and street vendors. He pushed his way through crowds and ducked down dark alleys. He ran until his legs ached and his chest stung with each breath but still he kept on going, blindly turning every which way, not really caring where he went. He only knew that he needed to get away. Away from this strange city and away from his shame. 

Neon signs flashed above and tall glass and metal spires towered over him, increasing his anxiety. What was once a world of wonder now seemed frighteningly alien. The swarms of oddly dressed people that surrounded him started to make him feel claustrophobic as they passed by without giving him a second glance. He just wanted to go home, back to the normalcy of the green fields and the warm fireplace that he would sit by in the kitchen. Where he could look out the window towards the forest and see the stars in the sky as he curled up with a good book or a hot cup of cocoa that he’d managed to save up for. 

Finally, he came to the large bridge that connected the metropolis to the otherside of the bay. There he saw the inviting woodland in the distance and took off down it’s walkway. The sun was beginning to set and city lights started to twinkle in the distance as he made his way across. Tears stung his eyes but he dared not stop to wipe them. 

He made it to the other side as night began to settle and the moon started to hang overhead. He ran along the side of the road for a little ways more before taking a sharp turn and diving straight into the forest. The ground was rougher here and he stumbled once or twice over a root or a rock he didn’t see in the dark, but still he kept on running. 

He only stopped when he came to the foot of a giant tree. It wasn’t like any other he’d seen before, massive in size and shooting high into the night sky, but it smelt kind of like a pine or a spruce, but not quite. Whatever, at least it wasn’t another skyscraper, he thought as he collapsed next to the thick trunk, his hands digging into the soft red bark of the tree. He slid down to the forest floor as he began to sob and other more familiar scents and sounds assailed his senses. The smell of earthy moss, the rustle of tree leaves above, the damp grassy ground soaking through his coat, all of it reminded him of the woods near his home and helped to calm his nerves. 

He shuttered another sob and choked back tears. He didn’t know what to do any more. He didn’t want to face anyone he knew or think about how he’d let his father down, again. All he wanted was just to be back where he belonged though he knew deep down that he could never return to that place in time two years ago. He huddled under the tree, resigned, and cried himself to sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sergeant Gerson is the desk sergeant from the movie, so named after his VA.


	16. Fallout

Hiro felt the strong wind batter his helmet as he scanned the skyline. He and Baymax were perched on top the San Fansokyo bridge. The robot's sensors were also searching the cityscape before them, looking for Varian. 

Hiro of course wouldn't be able to spot the teen in a crowd from this height, but still he kept on looking anyways, hoping against hope that he might catch a glimpse of the familiar goggles and blue streaked hair. His friend had been missing for over twelve hours and he was really starting to worry. 

Just then his eyes did pick out something bounding across the rooftops. It was Fred carrying Wasabi, and they were followed close behind by Gogo and Honey Lemon. 

They quickly joined him on top of the pire. 

"Any luck?" He asked. 

"No." Honey Lemon sadly answered. 

"Fred and I didn't find anything either." Wasabi despaired.

"And he's still not answering his phone." Gogo added. 

"How about you and Baymax?" Fred asked hopefully. 

Hiro gave a weary sigh. "Nothin'. Baymax must've scanned the whole city by now. Either he's not in San Fransokyo anymore or…." He trailed off unable to finish. 

"Or what?" Fred pressed.

"Or he...he may not be... alive." Hiro felt a lump in his throat starting to rise and blinked back tears.

"Don't … don't say that." Honey Lemon protested, her voice shaking with fear. She couldn't bare the thought of losing another friend so soon. Not when they were just starting to get to know him well. 

"Maybe Baymax's scanners missed something?" Wasabi suggested optimistically. "The city is a large place and we are talking about millions of people here." 

Hiro shook his head. "No. According to Baymax's memory files, Varian has a unique biosignature from everyone else because he's from another world. He should be easy to find in a crowd." 

"You mean he _is_ an alien?" Fred asked, trying to make sense of what Hiro was saying. 

"Oh no, he's human, just like us, but he gives off a low level electromagnetic radiation reading; probably due to travelling through the portal unprotected. Either way Baymax would be able to pick it up easily unless ... unless Varian just isn't emitting any vital signs at all." 

A suffocating silence fell upon the group as they shared worried looks. No one wanted to assume the worst but they were running out of options. 

"Then he must have left the city. That's all." Gogo said, the calm assurance in her voice putting everyone at ease, even herself. "He does have a bus pass. He may have rode out to the suburbs or the beach, or something." 

"Unless he got his portal working and left the planet altogether." Fred countered.

"What!? And leave without taking his pet raccoon with him!? Nope. Nuh-uh. No way am I keeping that thing!" Wasabi fumed. Though really, his annoyance was more about distracting himself from his own despair rather than focusing on the possibility of losing someone he had come to care about. 

Just then Baymax interrupted. "I have found something." 

Everyone looked to the robot hopefully. "Where? Is it Varian?" Hiro asked. 

"A faint energy reading coming from Muirahara Woods." Baymax replied. "But it keeps fluctuating, I can not tell if it is Varian or not." 

Hiro and his friends shared a look amongst each other. Muirahara Woods was well known to interfere with electronic devices. There really was no telling if what Baymax was picking up was their friend or not. Nor if the signal fading in and out was a byproduct of the interference or if Varian's vital signs were actually low. 

"Well so far it's the best lead we've had." Hiro said. "Let's move out."

* * *

Varian sat huddled underneath the giant tree. He’d woken up early in the morning sore, hungry, and cold, his jacket having been soaked through from the damp ground. Now the sun was nearing midday and he was becoming hot and thirsty instead. However, he still didn’t move from his perch. He wasn't ready yet to face his disgrace. 

“Man, what have I told you about sleeping outside?” An annoyed voice broke through his worrisome thoughts and Varian looked up to see Wasabi standing before him, dressed in his full armor, quickly followed by the rest of their friends.

Hiro hopped off of Baymax’s back and angrily strode towards him. 

“What were you thinking, running away like that!? Do you have any idea how worried we’ve been? Chief Cruz has the whole police force looking for you and Aunt Cass hasn’t stopped crying since you…”

Hiro was interrupted by Gogo, who placed a hand on his chest to halt his progress. “Calm down. Yelling won’t help.”

Varian’s only response though was to duck his head and hug his knees, as if he could hide his shame so long as he could hide his face from them. 

“Are you ok?” He heard Honey Lemon ask and Varian felt a gentle hand rest upon his shoulder, but he still didn’t move or say anything. 

“I have done a full body scan and he appears to have suffered no injuries.” Baymax’s clipped voice filled the air. “However I do detect low levels of serotonin, which can be linked to anxiety, depression, panic attacks, insomnia..”

“We get it Baymax. Thank you.” Wasabi interrupted, presumably to spare everyone the long and unnecessary details.

"Are you embarrassed about being arrested?" That was Fred talking."Don't worry, you're not the only one to get busted for bot fighting, just look at Hiro here!" 

"Hey!" Hiro protested, annoyed.

Next Varian heard footsteps coming nearer and felt the presence of someone squating down next to him. 

“Varian?” came Gogo’s voice, “what’s wrong?” 

No response.

“We want to help you but we can’t if you won't talk to us.” She pressed. 

Still no response. 

“Varian, we know something is wrong, and it’s not about bot fighting or the arrest.” She sighed. “The panic attacks, the angry outbursts, and now this….” 

She paused again, hoping he’d offer something up as a way of explanation but he didn’t. So instead she steeled herself and asked the question she had been wanting ask since their argument last week, but had been afraid to do so until now. 

“Why were you left alone at fourteen? Where’s your dad?” 

This did get a response. Varian inhaled sharply and squeezed his arms tighter around his legs, as if he had been stabbed by those questions. He still didn’t answer though. 

“What..what do you mean by ‘left alone”?” Hiro asked, all of his anger now replaced with concern.

“He said he's been on his own since he was fourteen.” Gogo replied. 

“And he also said that his pet raccoon was all he had left.” Wasabi added with horror as a new context for Varian’s angry outburst during his first night in San Fansokyo took shape. 

"You really did lose your family?" Fred gasped. "Is that why you became a super villian?" 

Wasabi gave his friend a disbelieving look, "For the last time he's not a super villain, Fred." He then took a swat him for being so tactless, not that Fred felt it through his armor. "Stop saying that ya dummy!" 

"But I am." 

Varian's confession was muffled from where he still held his head in his lap, but there was no mistaking the tears in his voice. As one, all of his friends looked at him in surprise. 

"What do you mean?" Honey Lemon gently asked when Varian offered no further explanation.

"I..I've been in jail before." Was all he could say. 

"For what?" Hiro asked, almost fearful of the answer. 

Varian paused, unsure how best to explain his extensive list of crimes. Finally he settled on the one that pretty much covered all the rest. 

"Tre..Treason." He choked. 

He couldn't see it, but he was sure everyone was exchanging shocked looks with one another and he braced himself for the rejection that would undoubtedly follow. 

"You sold out your country's military secrets in a time of war?" Wasabi asked confused. 

He hadn't expected that. Varian looked up to see everyone staring at him with worry and confusion. He could only look at them with equal confusion. What was Wasabi talking about? 

"We don't know what 'treason' means in your world." Gogo explained. "We only have our definition and it's pretty narrow." 

Varian's breath hitched and he ducked his head back down. Just even saying the word had been hard enough. He wasn't sure he if could recount everything without breaking down again. His mind whirled as he tried to even pick out a starting point. 

"It means… lots of things…." He heaved through sobs. "I guess, the first… crime...was stealing the sundrop…" 

"The what?" Fred asked. 

"A… flower…it's suppose to heal people." 

"You mean medicine?" Hiro said trying to put Varian's words into terms they all understood. "You… you got tried for treason just for stealing medicine?" His voice was now incredulous, as if he couldn't believe it.

Varian hugged himself tighter and snuggled his face deeper in his arms, trying to make himself as small as possible. There was more besides the theft but he couldn't bring himself to admit it outloud. 

"Varian," Honey Lemon coaxed, "why did you need the medicine?" 

"My… my dad… he's hurt." Was all Varian could say. 

"And this happened when you were just fourteen?" Gogo said piecing together the puzzle. "You've been on your own taking care of your dad and no one helped you?" 

Varian finally looked up, tears running down his eyes, and nodded. All of his friends looked back at him sadly, unsure of what to say or do. 

"And that's why you ran away when Aunt Cass mentioned your dad." Hiro said coming to a realization. 

Varian's stomach turned with guilt as he thought about the trouble he had caused for the kind woman. She had only been trying to help him. 

"What's wrong with him?" Hiro continued. 

How could Varian explain? What could he say that would even make sense to these people who came from a world without magic? Hell, he barely understood it himself and he had lived through it. 

"There… there was an accident. He's… he's unconscious…. And hasn't been able to move for over a year now." 

"What you have described is a coma." Baymax said. "A coma is a state of deep unconsciousness that lasts for a prolonged or indefinite period, caused especially by severe injury or illness. There are many causes for a coma and treatments vary on a case by case instance. I would have to see the person in order to diagnose further." 

Varian very much doubted that the robot could find a cure for the amber but he declined to state so out loud. Instead he straightened himself up a little and with new found determination said, "I have to get back. I got to save him. No one else will help him." 

"We'll help." Hiro replied. 

"Yeah," Wasabi pitched in, "We can bring him back here. With all our advanced medical knowledge; if there's a way to cure him then surely we'd have it."

Gogo rest a hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eyes reassuringly. "Hey, you're not alone any more." 

Fresh tears began to well up in Varain's eyes for a whole new reason, but before he could respond Honey Lemon was throwing her arms around him in a tight hug. "That's right, and until you get your portal working, you got us!" She squeezed him and nuzzled her head against his other shoulder. 

Soon Gogo joined in on the hug, followed by Hiro and the Wasabi. 

"Yeah, we don't mind that you're a former super villain." Fred said as he also joined in on the group hug. 

"Fred." Came everyone else's groan, but Varian could only laugh. 

He'd spent years alone. No one had given a damn about him or his dad. No one had offered to help, many had outright attacked him when he tried to ask, and yet here he was now surround by people who really did care. Who had looked for him when he was lost.Who didn't turn on him for messing up. Who now were offering to help his father and vowing to stick beside him. 

There wasn't enough words in the universe to describe his joy as they all surrounded him to offer love and support. The hard plastic of their armor wasn't particularly cuddly and with Baymax adding himself to the hug their collective weight was now crushing down upon him, but he didn't care. He wanted to hold on to this moment for as long as he could. 

He had friends now, real friends, and he wasn't going to lose them like he'd had lost everyone else.

* * *

Aunt Cass paced back and forth frantically inside the cafe, alternating between nervously biting her nails and biting into pastries she snagged from behind the counter. 

She hated waiting. She wanted to be out there, hunting for the missing teen, but Officer Cruz had insisted it'd be best if she stayed here at the Lucky Cat in case Varian showed up. 

She had made a beeline back to the police station last night, in hysterics, as she told the chief of police about Varian running away. Cruz had put several of his men on the case and had called the college as well to let them know he was missing. The next morning, after a fitful night with no news, Hiro and his friends had left to join the search. 

How could this happen? How could she just lose a child like that? It had to have been something she had said or did that made Varian run off like that, but she didn't know what. The car ride from the police station replayed in her mind over and over again as she tried to figure out what she had done wrong. All she knew though was that if anything happened to the boy she would never forgive herself. 

She was halfway through her sixth donut that day when she heard the bell ring indicating that someone had entered the cafe. 

"We're closed." Cass yelled with her mouth full, before turning around to face the customer who clearly couldn't read. She hadn't open the coffee shop this morning, much the annoyance of her regulars, but she just couldn't deal with the stress, not right now. 

"So I see." Professor Granville said as she read the 'close' sign. 

"Oh, Professor Granville." Cass sighed in relief. Hopefully the schoolmaster would have some good news. Maybe Varian had made it back to the dorms on his own. "Have you heard from Varian?"

"No, but I've informed both the faculty and the residential advisors about the situation. If Varian shows back up at the college we'll know it as soon as he does." 

Granville closed the door and walked over to join Cass at the counter. "I came over to find out from you what had happen." 

Cass gave a shaky sob and tried as best she could to recount yesterday's events through her tears. Granville waited patiently until she was done, letting Cass vent, not showing any judgement on her part. When finished, Aunt Cass broke down completely and Granville laid a calming hand upon her shoulder. 

"It's not your fault." The older woman reassured her. "Being arrested again must have re-traumatized him." 

"A..again?" Cass choked back sobs, confused as to what Granville meant, but before the professor could explain Chief Cruz walked in. 

'Diego!" Cass rushed to him. "Did you find him?" 

"No, but I got my best men looking, we'll find him. I actually came to check up on you." He placed a hand upon her shoulder. "How are you holding up?" 

"Holding up?" Aunt Cass echoed and then she gave a bitter laugh. "You mean how am I, after losing a child in less than half an hour of receiving custody of him?" 

"Cass." Cruz gently chided. He hated to see her beat herself up. 

"Or how about how my nephew got in trouble for 'bot fighting for, what, the eighth time now?" 

"Cass." 

"Or the fact that I wasn't there? That I couldn't stop...Tadashi…" Now she could barely talk through the tears. She felt like a failure. She had never intended to become a parent and yet somehow the cruel universe had decided that she would have to raise her nephews herself only to then take one of them away. Now it seemed to have stolen another child from her. 

"Cassidy." Cruz gently urged, using her full name to snap her back to the present. "Don't worry. He'll turn up fine. I'm sure of it." That was when he noticed Professor Granville standing off the to the side. "Hello." 

"Hello, Chief Officer Cruz, I'd take it?" The woman cooly eyed him up and down, clearly not impressed by his rank.

"Yes, and you are?" He asked growing annoyed. 

"Oh, Diego, meet Professor Granville. She's the head of the Science Institute. Miss Granville this is Chief Cruz." Cass hastily introduced them as she wiped the tears from her eyes and tried her best to compose herself. However neither of them were paying much attention to her anymore. 

"Miss Granville.." He acknollaged curtly. 

"I prefer 'Professor', if you please." Granville returned, equally terse. 

"Okay, professor," he spat, "I've got a bone to to pick with you." 

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow but show no other sign of emotion. 

"Where do you get off admitting a sixteen year old into your school, knowing full well he doesn't have any legal guardians or other adults to watch over him while he's in the states?" 

"The same way I 'get off' admitting any other student. Varain is one of the smartest kids I've ever come across and he earned his scholarship same as Hiro, or Karmi, or any of the other exceptional young teens who prove themselves capable of handling the challenge." 

"Un-hun, and do any of these young teens have parents who live on the other side of the world?" Cruz retorted, his voice dripping with sarcasm. 

"If this is about Varian being an immigrant, then I have all of his papers in order and you'll find everything perfectly legal." 

"It's not about that." He snapped."A sixteen year old can't live in the dorms without an adult that he can contact in case of emergencies. So unless you are that adult, then he needs someone to foster him and no, a roommate doesn't count." 

"And just who do you think, pray tell, could or would be able to foster him that just so happens to live in commuting distance of the school? Especially since he isn't a citizen and not subject to the usual system." 

Cruz slid his hand across his face in frustration. "And that's why we don't admit foreign students who are underaged in the first place." 

Granville looked sadly at him. "That wasn't an option." She said quietly. 

"Come again?" 

Granville sighed with worry. What could she say? He wouldn't believe the whole truth, but she had to tell him something. As chief of police, Cruz had the power and connections to take Varain away if he thought the boy wasn't properly being taken care of. 

"He's a refugee." She hesitantly admitted, choosing a half truth. 

"What do you mean?" Cass interjected, confused now. Hiro had told her that Varian was an exchange student, but a refugee implied something else entirely. 

"Varian was already here in the states when I met him." She paused as she recalled all of the clues and hints Varian had dropped to her about his past and then tried to contextualize them to a modern setting as best she could. "His home is in the middle of a civil war. His whole village was destroyed, his father is missing, possibly injured or imprisoned or both, and he himself had just escaped from prison. And we're not talking about those nice clean cells down at your station, officer, he was held in a jail that's little more advanced than a medieval dungeon."

Cruz looked at her aghast and Cass put a hand to her mouth as silent horror filled her. 

"I thought he was from Russia?" Cruz said, wondering what other lies the professor had forged. 

"A colony of Russia, a hold over from the USSR" She clarified. "He fought alongside a group who are trying to reclaim their land back." 

This last part was at least true. Varain had mentioned being associated with a people called the Saporians, who really were fighting to regain their homeland. He of course had tried to walk this back whenever he let it slip but Granville could piece it together. The fact that Corona just so happened to coincide with a less than always stable part of the world was meer coincidence, but was proving useful to explain his past without giving away Big Hero Six or the portals. 

"How did he escape and get here?" Cruz asked, still unsure what to think about all this. 

Well so much for keeping the portals a secret. Still, no reason to claim he's from another world entirely. 

"The boy built a working spatial portal. He's a genius, a prodigy, but he's never had the opportunity to even attend basic grade school. What else was I supposed to do? Turn him away? So I helped him to obtain a student visa, one that is perfectly valid, and provided him with room and board." 

"And it never occurred to you that maybe that wasn't the best idea?" Cruz pressed on, still not willing to concede yet. "That maybe there are other options, like, I don't know, social services or something. Surely they have the means to take care if him." 

Granville rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Oh, of course, let's just throw the boy who's been on the run for his life into foster care, where he'll be shuffled around from house to house, until he ages out of the system in two years anyways, where he'll then wind up on the streets without an education or be deported right back to the hell he just escaped from." Granville's voice dripped with sardonic venom. She was getting really fed up with this police officer who acted like he knew everything. "I've worked in social services for years, Officer Cruz, and while they can be potentially life saving, they aren't always the solution. The boy needs stability and a future." 

"The boy needs a home and adult supervision." Cruz pushed back. "He can't get that living in a college dormitory." 

"Then what do you suggest?" Granville challenged. She'd be damned before she let this policeman drag Varian out of school, head sargent or no. Hell, she'd adopt the boy herself if need be, though she'd have to get a new apartment first. Her one bedroom penthouse was actually very nice but it wouldn't hold both of them. 

"I'll take him." 

Both Granville and Cruz stopped and looked at Aunt Cass in surprise. She had been silent for most the argument but now her plaintive voice interrupted their battle of wills. She had listened to Granville's explanation of Varian's past with growing terror and her kind soul could hardly bare the thought of that sweet boy alone in the world, facing all of those horrors at such a young age. 

"He can stay here." Her voice became more steady as she continued. "I have plenty of room, and he could still go to school. That way he gets both, a home and a future." 

"Cass…are you sure?" Cruz asked her. 

"You mean am I sure I can handle taking in a teenaged boy genius and raising him as my own?" She gently teased her friend. They all knew that that was precisely what she had been doing for the past several years. 

"I'll take him." She softly reiterated, more sure this time. However her new found confidence gave away when she remembered their current problem. "Th-that is if we can find him." Her voice cracked and she collapsed in on herself now with fresh tears. Cruz cradled her in his arms and gently led her over to the nearby a stool next to the counter where she then laid her head upon the countertop and cried. 

She only looked up when she heard the bell to the cafe door ring again. 

"Look what we found?" Came a cheerful call.

There standing the doorway was Hiro and his friends. They had ditched their armor and superhero gear inside the garage and were now dressed in civilian clothes. Not that Aunt Cass knew nor cared at the moment. For standing in front, looking very small and sheepish, but very much alive and unharmed, was Varian.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This 'episode' was orginally planned as a two parter, but it looks like it'll be a four parter. I'd rather get it out in chunks then have it go on too long and risk not getting done at all. So there'll be more to follow soon.


	17. Moving

Aunt Cass very nearly tipped over the bar stool she had been sitting on as she rushed to the door. 

“Varian!” She exclaimed and flung her arms around the bedraggled boy in relief. 

Guilt pained Varian like a knife. He had been anxious the whole trip back, unsure how he would handle being repermained again. He had walked into the Luck Cat fully expecting another lecture and the sight of both Professor Granville and Officer Cruz had only heightened his anxiety. Instead he was met with a tearful hug. Apparently Aunt Cass had been crying when they had entered the cafe, and according to Hiro, she had been crying since he’d disappeared last night. 

“I’m..I’m s-sorry.” He sputtered. “I was just trying to earn some money I’d.... I didn’t mean to...I didn’t want to hurt any..” 

He cut his apology short when he felt Aunt Cass wrap her arms tighter around him. She gave him a comforting squeeze to tell him it was alright, but that only made him cry all the more. Why was she being so nice to him? After all the trouble he had caused her, she should be furious at him. But she wasn’t mad at all, just relieved that he was alright. 

When she finally released him from her embrace, Aunt Cass cupped his face in her hands and brushed away his tears using her thumbs. She gave him a warm smile as she sniffled and blinked back tears of her own. However, that smile fell away as she studied his face more intently, which quickly turned into a full on inspection. 

He was covered in dirt, his clothes were still damp in places, and his hair was more disheveled than usual. She picked a twig from his bangs and gave him a concerned look. 

“Where were you?” She asked and Varian felt his cheeks grow hot as he realized how ridiculous his decisions from last night had been. 

“We found him in Muirahara Woods” Hiro explained. 

“The woods?” Cass echoed. “You were in the woods all night?” 

All Varian could do was nod sheepishly. 

Aunt Cass looked appalled. 

“When’s the last time you ate?” Was her next question.

Varian thought for a moment. He hadn’t expected that question. “Uh...I had an apple for lunch yesterday.” 

This only horrified Aunt Cass further. She grabbed him by the hand and pulled him over to the closest table. Then she went over to the counter and grabbed a sandwich from the display cooler, nabbed a plate, and poured him a glass of milk. 

Varian didn’t really feel like eating, his stomach was still tied up in knots, but there was no point in protesting. Aunt Cass was insistent and he had already caused enough of a scene. So Varian sat down and forced himself to eat.

He had to admit that the chicken salad sandwich she had made was delicious, and that he had been going hungry for several hours now, but he couldn’t relish the meal. As he sullenly chewed on his food guilt gnawed at his insides and an uncomfortable silence befell the cafe. His friends tried to dispel the awkwardness by joining him at the table and a few even ordered food for themselves so that they could eat with him, but it did little to uplift the pensive mood. 

Aunt Cass served everyone but constantly came back to Varian to hover over him. She would straighten his collar, wipe a smudge of dirt from his cheek, or run her fingers through his hair to tighty it up. It was as if she was afraid he would disappear again and so found excuses to fret over him in order to remind herself that he was really there safe and sound. 

Varian didn’t know how to feel about this new attention. No one had ever fussed over him in such a manner. Perhaps his own mother had when he was little, but he had only been six when she’d died and therefore couldn’t remember much. On the one hand, he felt even more self conscious now than he had when he'd first entered the restaurant. On the other hand, he couldn’t deny that it was comforting to be treated with care and kindness instead of the contempt other adults had given him when he was last in need. 

“Cass,” Chief Cruz interrupted them, “can we have a word with you?” 

Aunt Cass stopped in the middle of refilling his drink and looked towards Cruz and Granville. They had been standing patiently off the side while Aunt Cass had mothered over the teens, however there was much that still needed to be discussed and finalized before she could take full custody of Varian. 

“Oh yes, right, I’ll meet you both in the kitchen.” Honestly, she had almost forgotten they were even there. 

“I’ll be right back. If any of you need anything just holler.” She instructed the gang and then, much to Varian’s surprise, she gave both Hiro and him a quick kiss on top of their heads before walking off. As if he had been her own child, the same as Hiro. 

Varian watched all three adults walk away in increasing alarm and confusion. Usually grown ups discussing things out of earshot of you meant something was wrong and he’d had just recently screwed up big time. Plus Aunt Cass’s recent behavior had knocked him for a loop and he no longer knew what to expect. Were they leaving to discuss his punishment or figuring out how to keep him from leaving again? It had to be something to do with him but he didn’t know what. He looked at his friends questioningly but they only shrugged, equally confused. 

By the time the adults returned, Varian was sick to his stomach with worry and he wasn’t sure if the food he’d just eaten had helped or not. 

“Varian,” Aunt Cass stepped forward as if to make some sort of announcement, “Officer Cruz, Professor Granville, and I have been talking about yesterday and we’ve come to a very important decision.” 

That didn’t sound good. 

“Do you want us to leave?” Honey Lemon asked helpfully. 

“No, this concerns some of you as well.” 

Everyone shared worried glances at that. 

Aunt Cass took a deep breath and slowly continued on, “In light of what’s happened, we don’t think you should be living in the dorms anymore.” 

“You’re kicking me out of school?” Varian wailed, terrified. 

“Certainly not!” Granville interjected, “And don’t forget you still have an essay on Einstein's photoelectric effect due on Monday. I fully expect to see it on my desk come that morning.”

Varian had forgotten actually, but he was less concerned with homework at the moment and more concerned with where all of this was going. At least the professor’s usual no nonsense attitude eased his fears of being expelled. 

“A college roommate isn’t enough of an authority figure to be watching over a sixteen year old,” Cruz put in, annoyed, only to notice Wasabi standing across from him, and added apologetically, “No offense.”

Wasabi held up his hands in mock surrender. “Hey, none taken.” He assured the police officer.

Wasabi liked Varian just fine, but he had to admit that the past month of living with him had been stressful. He’d had his fill of trying to halfway parent someone who was only three years younger than himself. 

“Varian,” Aunt Cass bent down to look him in the eye. “I don’t ever want you to feel like you’re not welcome here, or that you can’t come to me or another adult for help and I’m sorry if what I said in the car last night upset you.” 

“No,” Varian’s voice cracked, “no, I’m sorry I ran away.” 

‘Why did you run away, Varian?” 

“I...my dad...and the arrest..” He couldn’t coherently string together words. He couldn’t explain to her what was going on and he tried to look away from her gaze.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Aunt Cass soothed as she stroked his face with the back of her hand to gain his attention once more. “Professor Granville explained to me what’s going on, about your father and what you’ve been through. You don’t have to talk about it right now if you don’t want to.” 

Varian looked first to Granville and then back to Aunt Cass in confusion, and so did the rest of the gang. How much had the Professor given away?

“I’m sorry Varian,” Granville spoke up,”I know what you said to me was in confidence, but Officer Cruz needed to know about your past record.” She paused to give the officer an irritated look. “However, no one is blaming you. It’s not easy being a refugee from a former soviet country.” 

The heroes clued in on her hint and kept silent as Aunt Cass picked back up the conversion, unaware that they were hiding anything. 

“Those things should never have happened to you.” Aunt Cass told Varian, her own voice now cracking with emotion. “But, without your father around, you need some sort of guardian to look after you.” She took a deep breath to steady herself before announcing her big decision. 

“That’s why I would like to become your foster parent.” 

Everyone looked at her in surprise. Varian glanced over at Hiro who appeared to be even more shocked than the rest of their friends. This was just as much news to him as it was to Varian. Aunt Cass stood back up and reached her arm out to her nephew, motioning him to come join her. He did so and found himself wrapped up in a half hug as she continued to speak with Varian. 

“We would love for you to come live with us here at the Luck Cat.” She smiled. Hiro took a moment more to process what was happening before also giving his own strained smile

“Yeah, of course you’re welcome here.” He agreed. 

His voice sounded cheerful, but Varian could tell that he was still reeling from the decision the same as he was. Varian wanted to decline the offer and spare them both the trouble. Besides, he was only just starting to get used to living in the dorms, and he would now have to upend his life for what would be a third time in less than two months. However, the serious faces of Cruz and Granville told him that he didn’t have much choice in the matter. 

Varian swallowed hard before slowly nodding his head in agreement. 

“Alright.” He said, but his own voice sounded small and far away to him. He barely remembered what happened next. His mind was a blur as everything seemed to be happening at once. 

There were discussions on what to do next; who would sleep where, when he should start packing, and a list of rules and other things that would be expected of him once he moved in. The adults talked about paperwork and formal records while his friends tried to offer optimistic words of encouragement to ease both his and Hiro's discomfort. But for Varian it was too much to take in at one time. 

Fortunately things started to wind down as one by one everyone started to leave. Cruz stated that he was glad that Varian was safe before going back to the station to call off the search party. Granville mentioned that she would gather up the forms that were needed and help Aunt Cass finalize everything as she walked out the door. And finally, Varian himself left, along with Wasabi. It was agreed that he could spend one more night at the dormitories before the move. He heaved a sigh of relief as soon as he was able to escape. Though as he and Wasabi drove away in his car, Varian knew that it was only a temporary respite from the awkwardness.

* * *

Hiro stood by while his aunt busied herself with making up Varian’s bed. It had been decided that the other teen would sleep in the ‘guest bedroom’, which was really more of a small office space that Aunt Cass kept a fold-up rolling bed in. She wanted to clean it up and make everything ready before Varian came to stay with them tomorrow. 

Hiro helped where he could, like grabbing things from the attic, taking out the trash, or handing her the sheets as she made the bed up, but for the most part he tried to stay out of her way as she went into a cleaning frenzy. Still he made sure to stay nearby in case she called for him to give her a hand with anything. More importantly though, he just didn’t want to be alone with his thoughts. 

He was still stunned by her announcement today. He understood why this was happening, but at the same time it was still a major change to all of their lives and he didn’t know what to say or how to process his feelings about it. 

Aunt Cass, however, sensed his discomfort.

“I’m sorry, about not talking to you earlier,” she said as she tucked a sheet corner under the mattress, “about what’s going on. I know this is a big change and it’s all very sudden, and that you didn’t get a chance to have a say in the matter.” 

“It’s okay.” Hiro assured her. True the decision had caught him off guard, but he didn’t want to come across as being unreasonable or bratty by whining. Varian had been through a lot after all and Aunt Cass raising him was probably for the best. 

“No, it’s not okay.” Aunt Cass turned to him and sighed,”and it’s not fair to you. You deserve to know about things that’ll affect your life and if you’re upset you can tell me.” 

She gave him an apologetic smile, but Hiro didn’t respond to it. He still didn’t know how to take it all in nor how to explain to her the swirl of confusing emotions tumbling through him at the moment. He didn’t even have words to identify most of them. 

She sighed again and continued on, “I don’t know how much Varian has told you, but it turns out that Corona isn’t as safe a place as here in San Fansokyo. He’s been through a lot, and he doesn’t have any family right now to take care of him. He may be staying here for quite some time, for the foreseeable future anyways, but,” She rested a hand upon Hiro’s shoulder," he _needs_ us.” 

Hiro met her pleading eyes. She needed him to understand why this was important but mostly she needed him to support her decision. To let her know that this was okay and that she was doing the right thing. She had rushed in, yes, but what else was there to be done? Who else was there to help? 

“He told us, a little.” Hiro admitted. “About his dad being injured and about how he got sent to prison.” Aunt Cass bit her lip at the reminder of Varian’s time in jail, but remained silent and let Hiro continue. “Look, I understand, Aunt Cass, really. It’s...it’s fine. _We’ll_ be fine. We’ll make it work somehow.” 

It was now Hiro’s turn to offer his aunt a small smile, one of encouragement. She returned it and tenderly swept his bangs to one side like she so often did. 

“Thank you,” She said,” Thank you for being so grown up about this. I’m very proud of you.” She gave him a peck on the cheek. “Now, let's get this room fixed up. I’ll grab the duster and you go get the furniture polish, okay.”

* * *

Varian did a mental count of his belongings now splayed out upon the couch. He and Wasabi were packing up his things for the move tomorrow and he wanted to make sure that he left nothing behind. Not that he had that much stuff to keep up with. 

"Wasabi?" Varian asked.

"Hmm?" The older teen answered as he folded Varian's clothes neatly into a suitcase. 

"Do you think Aunt Cass would let me stay an extra night here?" 

"Why? That would put us making the move after school on Monday." Wasabi reasoned. 

Varian sighed and gave only a shrug in reply. He had no reason other than the fact he wanted to stay, but no one seemed to care about what he wanted. 

"Look, I know this is a major readjustment," Wasabi contunited," but the adults are right. You need a guardian." 

Varian desperately tried to suppress an eye roll. Yes, he had messed up yesterday, but that didn't mean he couldn't take care of himself. Surely his past was proof enough that he had what it took to live on his own, but now that the truth was out, well mostly out, everyone was even more insistent on coddling him. Varian didn't want to seem ungrateful, but he was starting to become irritated. 

"Can't I just… I don't know, come to you or Professor Granville if I need something?" 

"It don't work that way. Granville can't sign off on stuff or pay your bills, and I barely qualify as an adult. Besides we both know you don't listen to me anyways." 

"I listen," Varian protested,"sometimes," he then added after a pause. 

Wasabi gave him a stern look. 

Varian sighed in defeat. "It's just, I was just starting to like here, alright." 

Wasabi's expression soften at that. "I get you. I'm going to miss having you around too. For what’s worth, you're the best roommate I've had since I started college. But hey, it's not like we won't ever see each other. We'll still meet up at school and such, and yeah you can probably still stay over sometimes. You just gotta get Aunt Cass's permission first." 

Wasabi turned back to his task of organizing Varian's suitcase when Ruddiger popped up from underneath the neatly stacked pile of clothes. The raccoon stood inside the luggage bag, paws outstretched, underwear caught on one ear, with an expression that suggested he was immensely proud of himself for pulling off his little prank.Wasabi fumed at the creature and picked Ruddiger up by the scruff of his neck. 

"Now _you_ I shall _not_ miss." He scolded as he pointed his finger accusingly at the raccoon. Who only huffed at him in response. He then handed Varian his pet before turning back to clean up the mess. 

"It's okay, buddy." Varian reassured as Ruddiger nuzzled his cheek. "You'll like it better at the Lucky Cat anyways. There's more room, and I saw a few other raccoons running around outside. Maybe you'll make a friend there, hun?" 

At least Aunt Cass was allowing him to keep Ruddiger. She had also offered him a part time job at the cafe, since his desire for spending cash is what had led to the whole bot fight fiasco in the first place. 

The only two things that she had requested of him, was that he would tell her where he was going when he went out, which given the circumstances, was fair, and that he would have to attend something called therapy. When asked what that was, Baymax had called it ‘a means of improving an individual's well-being and mental health using psychological methods’, and Hiro had said it just meant he’d have to talk to someone who was paid to listen to his problems. Varian still wasn’t sure what that entailed nor was he too keen on the idea of speaking to some stranger about his past and innermost feelings. He found opening up to people that he actually did like hard enough as it was.

“Hey Wasabi, have you ever gone to therapy?” He asked tentatively, finally giving voice to his thoughts. 

“Yeah, lots of times. In fact there’s a student counselor right here on campus that I see regularly.” He admitted. “I like to go to him sometimes when my OCD starts acting up again. Talking about it tends to help.” 

“OCD?”

“Uh, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, it’s a type of mental illness.” 

“You’re sick? And you didn’t tell me!?” Varian couldn’t stop the fear and concern creeping through his voice. True, this world had better medical treatments than his own, but that didn’t erase all the times he had known someone who had died from an illness, like his own mother for instance. 

“What!? No! Well, yeah. I mean... mental illness is still an illness but… but it’s not like that...” Wasabi stumbled over his words trying to explain the difference to the time displaced teen. “Look, think of it, like, owning a car.” 

Varian just stared blankly at him, not understanding what Wasabi was getting at, still worried over his friend’s health. 

“Your brain is a complex machine. You gotta treat it right. Make sure it’s well fueled, and recharged, and not making any clunky noises while you ride around. Sometimes that means you gotta go to a mechanic for a tune up, or in this case see a doctor to help you look under the hood and figure out what’s wrong. And sometimes what’s wrong can just be some minor thing that merely inconveniences you, like a busted headlight or a window that won’t roll up, and other times it’s something more serious that you need to deal with on the regular, like changing a spark plug now and then or adding oil when it gets low. Usually you can drive around with these things for a while before having to deal with them, but if you don’t deal with them they’ll turn into bigger problems later on. Then you got your emergency situations, like a breakdown or an actual injury. That’s when you need to seek immediate attention.”

Varian mulled over his friend’s words. He’d never thought of his brain as like being one of his inventions before, but it made sense in a way. 

“So which is it for you? Are you in danger or not?” 

“No, for the most part. It’s not as if OCD will kill ya, but every now and then you get overwhelmed and have a panic attack. That’s kind of like what you felt when you ran away last night. You feel your chest get tight and your heart rate speeds up, and it’s like the whole world is closing in around you.”

Varian looked at Wasabi in surprise. How could anyone know that kind of blind fear that he had experienced? What on earth had Wasabi been through to cause such a ‘breakdown’, as he had described it? 

However, instead of prying, Varian asked a different question, “What do you do when you have these attacks?”

‘Well, I try to take deep breaths, maybe do some yoga, anything to get myself away from what’s stressing me out, and if I have a particularly bad one or if they keep happening a lot, that’s when I talk to someone, like the counselor.”

“Could… could I maaaybe come to you, if I have one? You know, ‘get away from it’ like you said?”

“Of course you can. Heck, you can even keep the spare key to the dorm. Drop by anytime you need to, even if I’m not here. Just let someone know where you’re at.” 

“Ok, thanks.” Varian offered up a smile, knowing he had some place familiar to run to when stressed greatly eased his mind. 

“Hey, what are friends for?” Wasabi said, echoing the same words Varian had heard him say during his first night in this new world. 

“You know, before I met you, I didn’t know the answer to that question. You’re the first real friend I’ve ever had, well next to Ruddiger that is.” He admitted sheepishly as he placed his beloved pet down. When he stood back up he noticed Wasabi was blinking back tears. 

“Maaan, come here you knucklehead.” He grabbed Varian into a mock headlock and gently mussed up his hair with his knuckles. Varian had to laugh at the ridiculousness of it. 

“Ahh, no! Noogies! My one weakness!” he feigned and they both started to snicker. 

“Yeah well, next time don’t scare me like you did yesterday.” He let Varian go and added more seriously. “We’re _best_ friends, and nothing’s going to change that, not a panic attack nor a move. Got it?” 

“Got it.” Varian repeated. Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad after all, not when he still had friends he could turn to. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally we've completed the opening arc. Everything is now established and we'll be moving on to reintroducing the villains soon.


	18. Readjustments

Hiro flopped face first upon his bed with a groan. His stomach was rolling.

Aunt Cass had decided, as a means of making Varian feel more at home, to fix traditional meals from Corona. Turns out Varian loved to cook and he had helped prepare dinner every night for the past week. 

It started out simple enough, pork dumplings, baked apples, buttered shrimp, ham sandwiches with pickles, but then things started to get weird. While using pumpernickel for the ham sandwich had been different it was still manageable, but what came next was inexplicable; meatballs covered in anchovy fish sauce, cookies that tasted like black licorice, boiled eel, and today had been the worst of all, fish pie. 

It wasn't even like a real pie, it was just a whole fish, head, fins, and all, covered in a type of thick crust and baked. You had to pick through the crust and the skin to actually get to the fish and then you had to pull it off the bone and hoped you didn't get one of the sharp tiny blades stuck in your throat or teeth. 

It had been all Hiro could do to sit through these dinners with a polite smile plastered on his face as he forced himself to eat.Today he had feigned an excuse about homework in order to get away as soon as possible. Though it looked like there was no end in sight. Varian already mentioned making some sort of stew tomorrow. Hiro forgot if it was going to be beef or vegetable but either way he didn't trust it. 

Hiro hoisted himself up and rolled on his back with a heavy sigh. 

Of course it wasn't really the food that was bothering him. He looked over to the otherside of the room where Tadashi's things still lay untouched since his death. He didn't tell Aunt Cass this, but when it was first announced that Varian would be moving in with them Hiro had feared that Varian would share his room. That they would have to move all of Tadashi's things out and he was afraid he couldn't handle it.

Fortunately, it didn't come to that. Varian had taken over the guest bedroom downstairs instead. As Aunt Cass had put it, Varian was their guest and it wasn't like they used that room for much of anything else. Though Hiro suspected that Aunt Cass was just as unwilling to go through Tadashi's things as he was. They would have to do so someday though and Varian had just been a painful reminder of that. 

There were also other ways in which the time-displaced teen unintentionally encroached upon Tadashi's memory. Seemingly simple things, like when joining in on movie night Varian had picked out Frankenstein. That had been Tadashi's favorite film. Or yesterday, when Aunt Cass had taught Varian to play Gomoku. A family staple, the board game once belonged to their father and Tashdai had loved to play it on rainy days. 

Varian was a far different person than his brother and of course it wasn't as if he was trying to replace Tadashi or anything, but still simply having the boy around and integrating into their family naturally brought these situations up. It felt, well, off putting. 

If Aunt Cass felt the same or noticed she made no mention of it and for the most part Varian was oblivious. So Hiro was trapped with his own discomfort, unable to share his feelings without upsetting someone. 

He blinked back tears. The world was moving on without Tadashi and Hiro wasn't ready yet to accept that.

* * *

Varian made his way back to his new room, annoyed that Hiro had managed to avoid cleaning up after dinner, again. Varian knew the other boy had a lot on his plate; school, his internship, and superheroing, but would it kill Hiro to wash a dish now and then? Varian was also juggling school work and a new part time job, and he had not only cleaned up but also cooked the meal in the first place. But it's not like Varian could really say anything about it. He was still new here, and despite Aunt Cass's best efforts, he felt like an intruder.

People had always talked about ghosts in his world. He had never believed in them. His own castle was reportedly supposed to be full of phantoms but despite searching for years he'd never come upon any such spectral, until now. 

The Harmada home was haunted by the presence of Tadashi. The teen's pictures framed the walls, his things laid about the house untouched in months, and everything Varian said or did seemed to stir his memory in the minds of the family who still lived there. 

Varian understood, they were still grieving and he couldn't blame them for it. Yet, that didn't stop the ghost of Tadashi hovering in the back of everyone's mind and making even the air feel repressive. Varian gave an uneasy sidelong glance at one of the fading pictures on the wall, this one of Tadashi and his also deceased parents, before opening the door to the guest bedroom. 

The room was a small office space at the end of the hall on the second floor of the house. In fact it was the smallest room in the building save for the bathrooms. 

There was a single window on one end overlooking the ally and fire escape. Not the most resplendent of views perhaps, but better than having no fresh air or light at all. A living condition Varian knew all too well from his time in the dungeon. 

There was also a small metal bed with a thin spring mattress, made to fold up and roll out of the way if need be. Aunt Cass had said it was only temporary and offered to buy him a new bed later, but Varian had told her not to worry about it. It wasn't quite as comfortable as Wasabi's couch had been but it was still serviceable and he didn't want the woman to go out of her way any more than she already had. 

There was no closet but a tall chest of drawers on the far end and a small wooden desk next to the bed. Above the desk was a single shelf. Aunt Cass had originally stored decorative nick-nacks on it, but Varian had replaced those with what few books he owned instead. 

Aunt Cass had said that Varian was free to redecorate the room however he wanted as he'd be living there indefinitely. Varian wasn't sure what he might do as he didn't have any real preferences, though he might somehow cover the flowery wallpaper as it was starting to fade and peel. Hiro had posters up in his room, Varian might put some up as well, but of what he hadn't decided yet. 

For now though Varian simply reclined upon the bed, hands behind his head as he leaned against the wall, one foot dangling off the side, as he just wanted to relax. Soon the family cat, Mochi, wandered in and hopped on the bed with him.

Varian liked Mochi. The cat had actually been the most welcoming member of the household. That was perhaps unfair to Hiro and Aunt Cass, who really were trying to make him feel at home, with 'trying' being the key word. All of their efforts had felt forced, Aunt Cass with her over eagerness and Hiro with his awkward politeness. But to Mochi, Varian was just another lap to sit on. Nothing special, nothing different, as if he'd always been there, Varian might as well have been part of the furniture as far as the cat was concerned. 

Varian sat there petting Mochi with the calico cat curled up on his lap, when Ruddiger walked in carrying a banana in his mouth that he'd stolen from the kitchen. The raccoon dropped his treat and sprung upon the bed when he caught sight of the other pet. He indignantly tried to push the other animal off Varian's lap, chittering angrily, but Mochi paid no heed and stayed where he was. 

Varian couldn't help but laugh. "Aww, what's the matter Ruddiger? Jealous?" 

His raccoon put its paws on its hips and gave Varian a pout. Well as best a pout that a raccoon could give. This only caused Varian to laugh more. 

"I'm sorry, Ruddiger, I don't mean to make fun, but you're being silly. There's more than enough room for both of you." He reached out his hand to pet Ruddiger and added, "why don't you hand me that banana you dropped and I'll peel it for you." 

Ruddiger acquiesced to his offer and soon curled up next Mochi on the bed munching on the tropical fruit, his hunger overtaking his jealousy. Varian continued to cuddle them both until falling asleep.

* * *

"Varian, honey?" Aunt Cass gently opened the ajar door to peak inside Varian's room. She found him asleep on the bed, still in his clothes with both Mochi and Ruddiger curled up beside him. The sight of which melted her heart. 

She moved his still dangling foot back onto the bed and took a throw-blanket from the living room's couch to cover his legs. She then placed a pillow behind his head so that it wouldn't be leaning against the wall anymore. 

She tried her best not to wake either him or the animals as she attempted to make him more comfortable. It'd been a long time since she tucked a child into bed, both Hiro and Tadashi had outgrown the ritual, and in truth so had Varian no doubt, but her motherly instincts took over anyways. She also couldn't resist wiping his bangs to the side as she so often did for her other two boys as she whispered good night before closing the door to and leaving him to rest. 

Cass stood a moment or two outside the door to make sure she'd not woken him up but was greeted by a light snore in response. She gave a sigh, half in relief and half in worry. The move hadn't gone as smoothly as she had hoped and they were all still readjusting to their new lives. 

Hiro was upset, she knew, though he made a big show of being polite in an effort to keep everyone else happy. And as for Varian, well he came with a whole host of challenges that Aunt Cass hadn't been prepared for. 

All the usual problems she expected of kids never happened. He was more than happy to do homework and chores and often volunteered his services to help out whenever he could. In fact he was a little too egear. 

What Aunt Cass had intended to be an easy part time job, Varian had decided was a grave responsibility. He seemed to think that he needed to take on the 'family business' so to speak. She'd caught him reorganizing the food stores, volunteering to bake the donuts early in the morning without telling her so, balancing the books and offering up better deals on coffee beans that he'd found online. He'd even tried to learn how to do taxes. 

That had been the last straw. 

"Varian, you don't need to do the taxes." 

"It's okay, I don't mind. I'd always do the bookkeeping back home anyways. Dad prefered that to me running the plow, and I was always better at math than him." Varian explained blithely. 

Aunt Cass just stood there and blinked at him in confusion. Who'd let their kid do their accounting? True that was probably better than plowing a field all day, but still. 

"Varian, I appreciate that you want to help out, but taxes are my job. At sixteen you're only job should be going to school, making friends, maybe doing a chore now and then. You can occasionally serve customers at the cafe for extra spending cash, but only serving. I don't want you taking responsibility for the whole business." 

Now it was Varian's turn to blink in confusion. 

"But...but I live here now. Isn't the Luck Cat all of our responsibility? I can do it, or do you not trust me?" 

"Oh, Varian, it's not about trust. What kind of parent would I be if I didn't allow you to just be a kid?" 

"But, I'm not a kid. You said it yourself. I'm sixteen. If I don't start now then when will I learn? It's not as if they teach taxes in my advanced physics class." 

Cass had to admit he had her there. When she was teen they had taught home economics in high school, so she had known how to balance a book before ever buying the cafe. Hiro had skipped high school, Varian had never even gone before, and according to Tadashi home economics wasn't even a class anymore. She had had a similar discussion with him when he had been seventeen and close to graduating. 

"Okay, if you want to learn how to manage money you can, but we'll start small." 

And so she had helped Varian open his own bank account the next day. That way he could deposit his pay from working at the Luck Cat, learn the basics of how to manage funds, and still come to her if he needed help. 

However, that had only resolved one issue. There were still many hiccups that resurged over the week. Some minor, some not so minor. 

For instance Varian didn't know how electric stoves worked and so Aunt Cass had caught him one morning putting his hand directly inside the oven and reciting some nursery rhyme in his native language in order to test how hot it had gotten. Apparently wood-fire stoves were all he had ever cooked on and there of course was no handy light on them to tell you that the oven had preheated. Funnily, enough he was trying to bake cereal, as he'd never eaten the kind you poured milk over and didn't know what else to do with the box of cornflakes Hiro had handed him. He was going to turn them into a pie crust for a breakfast pastry, which Aunt Cass had to admit wasn't a bad idea. 

Then there were less charming faux pas, such as when he dismantled her digital alarm clock to see how it worked. Fortunately, he had been able to put it together again. He was always into something, brimming with curiosity and energy. It was all Aunt Cass could do to keep up.

But still, Cass wouldn’t have traded him for anything in the world. The moment she had picked him up from the police station that day was the moment he had become her child and she’d do anything, put up with any inconvenience, just to give him the love he’d gone so long without. Neither Varian nor Hiro realized it, but Varian had added life back into their little broken home and filled a hole in her heart that had been missing for over nine months now. 

She turned to look at the fading photograph hanging on the wall. It was a picture of her sister and brother-in-law with Tadashi, before Hiro had been born. She missed them all so much. The way her sister would gently tease her about settling down while they shared a cup of tea. Tom’s love of lame jokes that he would try to interject into their conversation. The way Tadashi had inherited his father’s sense of humor and would try to cheer her up when she was feeling down. Nothing would replace them. But she also knew that deep down, that she and Hiro needed Varian just as much as he needed them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of the food listed here are indeed either real dishes from 17th century or traditional food from east Prussia.  
> Also in the comics Hiro's dad was named Tomeo and figure everyone called him Tom for short.


	19. Hardlight

"Heeeello interwebs! Today on 'How Does It Work?' We will be looking at a toaster." 

Varian stood inside the Hamada garage as he held up a toaster in front of a tripod that supported his smartphone.

Fred had introduced him to the concept of 'vlogs' a few days ago. Inspired, Varian had hit upon the idea of doing his own web series in his spare time. It'd give him something to do between work and school, when his friends were busy off doing superheroing things. 

He still was curious about many modern inventions and how they worked, and while he could simply read about them, he learned better by doing. He also figured that other people might like to know how the things they used everyday without thinking about them worked. Ergo, the premise of his show was to take apart an appliance or other household electronic and then put it back together again. 

The first video had received some moderate success. Though the majority of the comments were just simply stating how cute Ruddiger was over and over again. Apparently people got a kick out of seeing his raccoon assistant. 

"Aunt Cass has like, six of these lying around, so I'm sure she won't mind this time." He added, off hand to the camera.

He had taken apart her digital clock last time because she had complained about the alarm not working right. He wanted to surprise her by fixing it. She however was none too happy to find him sitting in the midst of the wires and casing that had once been her clock. Fortunately he had managed to put it all back together again, and even fix the alarm while at it, though it now wouldn't turn off unless you held the snooze button down for a full minute. He'd have to look into that little delay later when she was no longer upset with him. 

For now though Varian busied himself over the toaster. He took it apart successfully and then pieced it back together like a puzzle, all the while explaining what he was doing to the camera on his phone. It went well, right up until the end. 

"As you can see this a very simple device. Eazy to fix, if need be." He stated as he began to plug the appliance in to test it out. But no sooner did he stand up to readdress the camera did the toaster start to spark and crackle before catching into flames. 

"Ahh!" 

Instincts took over and Varian threw a nearby tarp over the flames to smother them. Ruddiger grabbed the fire extinguisher and after fiddling with it for few seconds managed to spray the foaming stuff onto both him and the small fire. 

That's when Varian heard laughter coming from behind him. 

He slowly turned around, the foam still in his hair and his cheeks burning with embarrassment.

Behind him stood a young girl about his age. She had short brown hair and wore a jean jacket. She was desperately trying to suppress her giggles and failing miserably at it. 

But upon making eye contact she coughed away her own embarrassment and gave him a sheepish grin.

"Hi. Is Hiro home?" She waved. 

Varian wiped the foam from his hair. "No, he's out at the moment." 

"Oh." She said clearly disappointed but then just as soon picked the conversion back up. "I'm Megan by the way, Chief Cruz's daughter." 

She held out her hand for Varian to shake which he numbly took. He muttered his name as a way of introduction. 

He wasn't sure where this was going. She no doubt thought him the fool due to his earlier misfortune but she seemed eager to move on from that and made no further mention of it. 

"You must be the new kid my dad was talking about." She continued. "So how are you liking America?" 

"Fine." 

She gave him a look that clearly stated to him that she expected more of an answer but he declined to speak further. He didn't want to put his foot in his mouth so soon after screwing up. 

"Ooookaaay." She decided to change the subject. "Your raccoon is pretty cool. Did you train him to use a fire extinguisher?" 

Ruddiger crawled up his back to rest upon his head as he sometimes did. His pet knew when people were talking about him. 

"No, not really. He's just smart."

Megan blinked at him in surprise. 

"Oh." She said again, this time having trouble comprehending how a raccoon could teach itself fire safety on its on. "Well, it's still neat that you got such a smart pet then. My dad won't let me keep any animals." She admitted wistfully. "Can..can I pet him?" 

"Sure." 

She reached her hand out tentatively and Ruddiger reached his head up to meet her hand in kind. She giggled again in delight as she began to pet the wild creature with more confidence. 

While engaged in this activity Varian saw Hiro and Baymax fly in. Hiro pulled his helmet off and then froze in terror at the sight of Megan. He quickly turned around and started pushing Baymax the other way, hoping to get away before the girl noticed that they were there.

"Did you hear something?" Megan paused and started to turn around.

"No!" Varian quickly interjected and tried to turn her attention back to him in order to give Hiro time to get away. "Uh, but Ruddiger here, loves being held. If you wanna." 

Megan looked like she had just won the lottery. Her eyes widen and her mouth broke into a huge grin. Varian handed his pet over to her and she breathlessly hugged the raccoon.

"Oooh, you're so cute!" She exclaimed. 

Megan was still cuddling Ruddiger when Hiro, now dressed in his regular clothes, walked in. 

"Hey, Megan. How was Florida?" 

"Oh, great! I almost didn't want to leave. I only came back because Father's Day is next week. Mom says 'hi' by the way." 

"Oh, well, tell her I said 'hi' back." 

"Do you wanna go grab a shake? I'll tell you all about the trip. You can come too if you want, Varian." 

Varian was going to politely decline the offer, he figured Hiro would rather catch up with his friend without him tagging along, but then Hiro's phone dinged, indicating that he had a text message.

Hiro read it. Of course it was an urgent call for help from the rest of the gang, but he didn't say so out loud.

"Soorrry. That was Wasabi. I..I'm suppose meet up for… our study group." 

"Seriously? Even during summer?" Megan admonished.

Hiro could only shrug his shoulders in apology. "Yeeeaah, college doesn't let out during the summer, but hey, Varian isn't in the study group. Why don't you hang with him. Teach him what normal teens do for fun." 

"Well I guess someone will have to since we all know you ain't normal" She teased in response. 

They both broke out into snickers at that, as if sharing some private joke that Varian didn't understand. 

"Alright, it's settled then. I'll see you two later, have fun." He waved goodbye and bowed out. 

Varian however was left standing there wondering what the heck had just happened. 

"Hmm..normal, hun?" Megan cupped her chin in thought. Then she turned to him and flashed him a sly grin. "Do you know how to skate?"

* * *

The skating park was a jungle of concrete and metal; deep sunken pits, tall curved edifices, piping serving as inclined rails, and even a small paved race track encircling the entire playground. All around people of various ages hurried about on seemingly any and every wheeled vehicle possible. Rollerblades like the type Varian had seen Gogo wear, another four wheeled version called rollerskates, scooters, bikes with pedals instead of motors, most with two wheels, some with three, even one with only one big wheel which looked like it'd be hard to balance on, but what really caught Varian's interest was the skateboards. 

He had built something similar back home, only his was larger and he could only roll down grassy hills with it. Anything else would cause the wheels to catch on rocks or cause him to lose control on the uneven ground. There'd be no such problem here on the relatively smooth concrete. 

Of course, Varian didn't have his rollingboard with him. Fortunately there was a small store that rented the various vehicles to the park's customers. He paid the man at the counter for a skateboard and the required safety gear. Megan had brought her own skates and helmet. 

"I'll race you down to the bottom!" She dared him as she stood next to one of larger pits. 

Varian joined her and peered over the side and for the briefest of moments he hesitated. The incline was steeper than any of the hills he had slid down and if he fell there'd be no soft grass to land on, only hard stone. That said, it wasn't as scary as the crystal slide he had ridden down on his first night here, nor was it as large as the snow drifts that he would surf down on his makeshift sled in winter. 

"Your on!" He told her, accepting her challenge. 

He steeled his nerves as he rolled the tip of the board to the edge and then let out a whoop of exhilaration as the ground gave way and he rolled quickly down the side, he then almost lost control when the board started to just as quickly roll back up the other side. That was new. He hopped off again once he'd reached the level ground, only stumbling a little. Megan met him soon after. 

"You ok?" She asked. 

"Yeah." Varian breathed and then burst into laughter. "You wanna do it again!?" 

It took a little more practice but soon Varian was riding the skateboard with ease. It controlled similarly to his old invention. In fact, due to its smaller size he found he could maneuver it even better than he had the other. Though he wasn't quite at the skill level where he could do tricks like some of the other kids he saw. 

It didn't matter though. He and Megan had fun just rolling around the park, alternating between racing one another or chasing each other in a sort of 'follow the leader' type game, usually Megan led. 

After a couple of hours though, the time on his rental was up and he and Megan had to leave. Varian would have to buy himself his own skateboard at some point. He bet the rest of his friends would love it here, particularly Gogo.

* * *

Varian and Megan made they're way back home walking through downtown. They had missed the bus and so decided to walk to the next trolley stop instead. They were probably halfway there when the sky began to suddenly turn gray. 

"Brrr" Megan shivered and hugged her jacket close around her. "Is it just me or did it get just get a lot colder all of a sudden." 

Varian could only shrug in response. He hadn't felt anything but he was already wearing his big frock coat anyways. He probably didn't need it, but he thought it made him look cool and he desperately wanted to impress the girl after having made a fool of himself earlier that day. Not that she had really noticed. 

"So how was your first day as a 'normal teen'?" She gently teased. "Cause I know you don't get a chance to just have fun and be a kid at that nerd school you and Hiro go to." 

"Is that all 'normal kids' do? Play?" 

"Well, when you're not at school or doing chores that is, but regular school is different from college." 

"I wouldn't know." Varian admitted reluctantly. "Never been to any other school besides SFIT. Also chores took up most of the day where I'm from and there wasn't many kids around my age." 

Megan stilled. Her father had told her about Varian. About how he came from a harsher country and had escaped to America for a better life. She didn't know any of the details, other than the fact that Varian was now staying with Hiro and his aunt. Her dad had warned her not to bring the subject up, but here was Varian volunteering to talk about his past anyways and Megan didn't know how to respond. 

She didn't get a chance to say anything though, as a whole bunch of people suddenly started to run towards them, and then right past them. The crowd was clearly scared of something. Some were screaming in fright as they all tried to run away. Though Megan couldn't figure out from what.

Varian grabbed her hand and pulled them both out of the way as the torrent of frighten people pushed their way past. Together they huddled under a yawning of a doorway, watching the scene in confusion. Then Megan spotted a familiar figure in the sky. 

"We gotta go." She warned Varian.

"Why?" 

"I just saw Big Hero Six fly by. That means there's trouble that way. We better follow the crowd and leave or take shelter someplace." She tugged at his arm trying to get him to come with her, but he only looked at her in confusion. 

"But they're the good guys right? They're there to help people." 

"No, they're vigilantes." Megan snapped back. "Where ever they go some crackpot shows up trying to start a fight. It'll be a huge mess. We're better off just going now." 

Once again she pulled on his coat sleeve but he didn't budge. 

"You mean they might get hurt?" He asked with worry in his voice.

"I don't know, maybe. Someone sure will if they're dumb enough to stick around." She was starting to get annoyed, but she took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "Look you're new here, I get it. You probably don't have superheroes where you're from. But trust me, we should just let the police handle it and stay out of the way. Now come on, pleeease." She begged again. 

Varian bit his lip in thought as if coming to a decision, and then finally to Megan's relief, he nodded his head in agreement. He took her hand again so as not to get separated in the crowd and they started to make their way back towards the park. 

The hadn't gone maybe a few steps when they heard a booming voice coming from the behind them. It was projected by some sort of loudspeaker and distorted to disguise the person's real voice. 

"Big Hero Six! Face me, Hardlight, in a battle of skill! If you dare!" 

They turned to see who was speaking and was greeted by the sight of a masked figure flying upon a glowing pink saucer. He wore armour not unlike BH6's own, but the seams of it also glowed with a dim light same as his mode of transport. He continued on with his challenge. 

"The prize? Why, Chief Office Cruz here." 

He laughed maniacally as he move his hand upward and a glowing cage made of the pink light followed his movement as if he was controlling it with his very thoughts. Inside the cage was Officer Cruz who pushed against his prison walls unable to escape.

"Dad!" Megan cried out in fear. 

Varian looked at her and the sight of her tears rolling down her cheeks forced him to make a very rash and possibly dangerous decision. To her shock, he turned around and ran directly towards the flying figures.

* * *

Varian neared the battle and ducked behind a mailbox for cover. In the sky and on the ground the superpowered beings fought one another. His friends going up against monsters made of light with Chief Cruz caught in the middle. On the other side of the street stood cop cars creating a barricade while the rest of the police also huddled for cover. A few were helping some straggling pedestrians but they were hopelessly outmatched by the villain, Hardlight, who hovered over everything as if surveying a game. 

He appeared to be untouchable. Even Varian's friends were having difficulty trying to fight him one on one as he sent hordes of his artificial minions after them instead and there wasn't anything the police could do. Not without risking their commander who was now in the line of fire. 

For all the world it looked like some mythic battle out of a fantasy storybook. But Varian knew better. There was no magic in this world. Everything ran off science. His friends powers came from their inventions and no doubt the supervillain was a scientist as well. Which meant that as soon as Varian could figure out how Hardlight's inventions worked then he could start figuring out the villain's weaknesses.

Though Varian currently was at a lost as to what that might be. He was no physical fighter and was every bit as out classed as the police were at the moment. 

Soon he heard footsteps near and he looked to see Megan joining his side. She was shaking with fear and desperately trying to gulp back her tears, but she wouldn't leave his nor, more importantly, her father's side. He understood all to well. 

"What are you thinking!?" She hissed under her breath. 

"You know I keep getting asked that question a lot lately." He replied dryly and then whispered back to her. "I'm  _ thinking _ that this dude has got to have a weakness and he doesn't know that we're here. So we figure out what that weakness is and help take him out while he's distracted with Hir-... with the heroes. Thereby freeing your dad." 

Megan looked at him, unsure of this plan. 

"Oookay, and that weakness might beee…?"

"Uh… give me a minute." Varian scanned the city street again and then dodged out the way quickly as a large hunk of metal sailed past. One of the larger light creatures had picked up a police car and hurled it across the street at the heroes. Varian's heart thudded in chest loudly as he saw the damage. What the heck  _ was _ he thinking? 

He saw Megan crouched down on her knees beside him, her arms around her head trying to shield herself from the flying debris and the heat of the explosion from the car that was now on fire. 

He should probably just get her out of there. That was most likely the best way he could help. 

But then he paused. Heat!? Cold!? Megan had said it had gotten unusually cold right before Hardlight had shown up and indeed his breath was fogging in the air. The rest of the gang must not have noticed because they were busy fighting in heavy armour. 

"Hard light!" Varian exclaimed finally piecing together the clues. 

"Wha…" Megam tentatively looked up at him confused. 

"That's why he calls himself Hardlight! Because he's using super cooled photons to turn light into solid matter!" 

Megan continued to look at him as if he was crazy. 

"We touched upon it in physics class." He explained. "Supposedly the science is only theoretical, but it looks like this guy has cracked the code. That cloud must be filled with rubidium and he must be using some sort of projector to shoot lasers into the chilled air.

Megan still looked lost. "Lasers? So it's literally just a light show?" 

"Yeah." More debris flew past. "A deadly light show." He gulped. 

He braved himself to take another look at the ongoing fight. He peered around the mailbox and saw Hardlight punching commands into his gauntlets. They must have held the device that controlled the projectors. In fact the lights on his suit may have been projectors themselves, looping the connection. He tried to follow one of the particle beams of regular light that flickered against the cloud, a byproduct of the more deadly 'solid light.' 

His eyes landed upon a window in a building across the street that flickered off and on. He then looked on the opposite side and saw a similar window in another building parallel to the first. 

"There!" He pointed."And over there. We'll have to make our way across and shut down the projectors inside." 

"Wait!" 

He turned and found Megan clutching his coat sleeve with both hands. Her eyes darted about in fear. 

Varian sighed. 

She wasn't use to this. Megan was, as she put it, a normal kid. She hadn't been through what Varian had been through nor what Hiro had been through. She had never had to fight for anything before and Varian hoped she'd never would. 

He rested a hand upon her shoulder to calm her. 

"Look, it's ok." He said gently, trying to come across as calm himself. Which he wasn't, but she didn't need to know that. "You don't have to come. Just wait here where it's safe and I'll do it." 

She searched his eyes questioningly, not sure if she should let him go. So he added,"I'll get your father back. I promise." 

Varian didn't make promises lightly. He knew how important they were and how devastating a broken one could really be. Once said, he meant it. 

She thought for a moment, took a steading breath, and then gently removed his hand from her shoulder. 

"No." She looked up at him with determination in her eyes. "I'm coming with you. Just tell me what to do." 

"Alright." Varian agreed. "Then follow me and stick close." 

Varian weaved and dodged and ducked through the littered sidewalks, behind various debris, and down abandon doorways. Carefully he and Megan made their way across the battlefield staying out of sight. Fortunately, Varian had had a lot of practice with sneaking around back during his time on the lam. The action came back to him instinctively. 

They made it by without being noticed and Varian stopped at the building closest to them, diving into the open doorway. 

"Ok, so you know what you're looking for?" He asked Megan. 

"A big projector, on the top floor. Just either shut it down or unplug it." She repeated his instructions. 

"Good." He nodded "Then I'll leave you to it. I'm going make my way to other end of the street and do the same. If we take both projectors out at the same time he'll hopefully be too surprised to recover. You sure you'll be alright on your own." 

"Hmm-hmm. You just be careful out there." She ordered back at him. 

Varian flashed her a smile that he hoped look more confident then he felt and then took off back outside into the fight.

* * *

Megan watched him go and she didn't dare move until she saw him make it across the street safely. Once he ducked into the other building, she turned and started to make her way to the top floor. 

Just her luck she would befriend a crazy a person, she thought as she started to climb the stairs. 

She found the room with the projector easily. What wasn't so easy was the fact the thing appeared to have no off switch. It also wasn't plugged into the wall but was hooked to a mini generator instead. She pulled and tugged at the thick hose like cord that connect the two to no avail. 

She huffed in frustration. 

Varian was super smart and no doubt was already hot wiring the one on his end. She however would have to find more unconventional means of shutting the device down. 

She looked around the room and spotted a heavy looking crowbar near the door. 

Perfect. 

She took the tool and began to smash the the projector to pieces.

* * *

Varian cut the last wire using the piece of amber that he always kept with him. It was his most valued possession next to Ruddiger. The only time he didn't have it on him was when he was experimenting with it instead. 

It was unbreakable and the point was as sharp as any knife, so it sliced through the machine's inner parts easily. 

The light in the projector flickered and died. 

He got up and hurried to the window to see what was happening. 

The cage was gone. Fred a had caught Cruz and was cradling the chief of police in his monster like arms. The officer looked out of sorts but otherwise unharmed. 

Hardlight was raging and desperately fiddling with his gauntlets. He still stood upon his saucer, confirming to Varian that his suit was also a mini projector, but he had lost his light creatures and other weaponry. 

Hiro and the others moved in to capture him but the villain stomped his feet in frustration and took off flying in the other direction. The dark cloud also dispersing as he retreated. 

Varian looked across the street to the other window and saw Megan waving at him enthusiastically. He gave her a thumbs up to confirm that he saw her. 

Then to his horror the worst thing happen. 

An explosion ignited behind the girl and she was soon falling out of the hole in the wall where she and the window once stood. Varian's heart plummeted as quickly as she fell.

* * *

Hiro didn't know why Hardlight's gear had suddenly stopped working and he didn't care. He was just grateful that it had.

He reached his hand to his intercom to tell his team to peruse the villain before he got away, but stopped when he heard the explosion and the scream. 

To his terror he saw Megan, of all people, falling from the skyscraper. 

"Baymax!" He yelled but the robot was already on it. Together they flew to meet the girl before she hit the ground, angling their flight so as to catch her gently. They then flew to the top of the opposite skyscraper in order to check over her in peace.

* * *

Varian saw Hiro and Baymax catch Megan and nearly cried with relief. He then saw them fly over the building he was currently in. He turned and ran out of the room and headed for the roof as fast as his legs would carry him.

* * *

Baymax laid Megan on the roof as gently as he could. Her eyes were closed and made no acknowledgment that she was aware of what was going on. 

Hiro hopped off of Baymax's back and tore off his helmet as he knelt down beside the girl. 

"Megan?" He desperately called to her. "Megan!" 

Baymax was in the middle of his scans so he wouldn't know what was really wrong until the robot finished, but the very fact that she was unconscious filled him with fear. 

"Megan, please don't...don't do this." He begged, his voice breaking along with his heart. 

Soon Varian was rushing towards them. 

"How is she?" He asked in a panic. 

Hiro looked up at the other boy in surprise that then quickly turned to anger. 

"What happen!?" He rounded on his friend. 

Varian took a step back, caught off guard by Hiro's sudden ferocity.

Megan however awoke before a fight could break out between the two. 

"Megan!" Both boys called out and Hiro knelt back down beside her. 

"I have completed my scans. It appears that she simply fainted. Outside of a few light bruises she should be fine." 

Megan didn't feel fine. Her ears were ringing from the explosion, her body was sore, and she felt disoriented by the fall. Even Baymax's familiar voice had her confused. Where had he come from? 

"Oh thank goodness." Hiro breathed and wrapped her in a hug. 

She looked to Varian standing nearby, worry etched on his face, back to Hiro holding her, trying to piece together what had happened. Then she noticed what Hiro was wearing. 

She pushed him away and looked over his armor as realization dawned on her. He also began to realize that his cover was blown as he watched her put two and two together. 

"You're...you're Big Hero Six? And you never told me?" 

Hiro gulped as she laid into him. 

"All the lies! All of the excuses! Just so you can run around playing superhero!? You've been putting yourself in danger this whole time..and...and.." She was so angry she couldn't form words. 

"Well, what were you doing inside that building?" Hiro asked defensively, though he knew it would do little good. 

"It was Varian's idea!" She pointed accusingly at the time displaced teen. Who backed away even further as Hiro glared daggers at him. "He's the one that figured out the projectors and decided that he was going to break them….and…" She paused as another thought occurred to her. "Did you know all along!?" 

Varian only stared blankly at her. 

"Gah! I can't believe you! Either of you! You knew all along Hiro was out there being a vigilante. That's why you were so desperate to help." 

"That's not Varian's fault." Hiro spoke up. "He had to keep our secret. He's… he's from another world. And we were the ones to find him." 

Megan just looked at them both with contempt not believing this new fantastical confession. 

"And why should I listen to you? Mr. "I've been lying for over three months now". 

"Nine." Hiro quietly corrected. He heaved a heavy sigh. "I've been doing this since Tadashi died." 

She blinked at him, taken aback by how raw his voice sounded. Hiro didn't like to talk about his brother often, the pain still too fresh in his mind. 

"Look, I understand that you're mad, and I don't blame you." Hiro continued. "But I'm not going to stop. I'm doing something important. Something that no one else can do, not even your dad. Those villain's aren't just going to go away and we're the only ones equipped to handle them." 

"Oh like how you 'handled' them today? When you needed mine and Varian's help. Hey, how do you explain a villain showing up right out of the blue  _ just _ to challenge you? Was  _ he _ always going to be there to kidnap my dad or did he only show up because of you!?" 

Hiro bit his lower lip, unable to answer. Megan pressed on. 

"What happens when you get hurt? Or someone you care about? What will you do then?" 

"I do this so no one else does get hurt!" He yelled back at her. "I...I can't lose anyone else." He broke down. 

"Well.. Maybe we can't lose you either." She was also crying now. "I'm telling my dad. He'll stop this." 

Hiro looked at her in shock. They held each other's gaze for several moments as if silently holding some sort of conversion with their eyes. 

Just then several footsteps could be heard running up the stair well, shouting from below, indicating that others were about to join them on the roof. 

Hiro stood up and placed his helmet back on. 

"I can't stop you." He told Megan. "But please, leave Varian out if it. No one is going to believe he's from another world anyways." 

"Wait, you're serious?" She asked Varian and he nodded yes. 

Hiro hopped onto Baymax's back and flew away just as Chief Cruz burst through the door and ran towards his daughter. 

"Megan! Oh thank heavens you're alright!" He squeezed her tightly. "What were you doing up there?" He scolded. 

"It's my fault." Varian offered up." I figured out that Hardlight was using projectors and I came up with the idea of sneaking past him and breaking them." 

"Also, it's my fault too," Megan jumped in before her dad could get on to him. "Varian tried to talk me out of coming along, but I insisted. I was too worry about you." She hugged her dad again before continuing on."Also, I may have shut down the projector incorrectly. That's probably why it exploded. It's...it's a good thing Big Hero Six was there to catch me." She gave Varian a wink as she said this, indicating that she had decided to keep both of their secrets.

* * *

Varian was getting tired of lectures. He and Megan had both received an ear full from Officer Cruz as the policeman drove Varian back to the Lucky Cat. Now Varian was sitting in the upstairs kitchen listening to another one from Aunt Cass who was pacing back and forth in agitation. And this was what, the fourth or fifth one had gotten this week? 

Varian sucked in his breath and forced himself to sit through it. He tried to remind himself that the adults were only getting on to him because they were concerned for his safety and he hadn't actually done anything wrong like he did a week ago with the bot fight. Of course any insistent that he knew what he was doing or that he'd lived through worst, had only upset the grown ups even more rather than ease their fears. So he decided to just remind quite and let Aunt Cass ramble on. 

Just as he was starting to zone out he caught a glimpse of Hiro sneaking past the kitchen while Aunt Cass's back was turned. The other boy was back in his regular clothes and trying his best to avoid such a lecture himself. 

He didn't succeed. Aunt Cass turned around and spotted him midway through his tip-toe. 

"And where were you today?" She asked accusingly. 

"Uh...study group?" Hiro lied. 

Aunt Cass raised an eyebrow but only said, "Well go on, this doesn't concern you and you don't need to eavesdropping." 

"Yes ma'am" Hiro readily agreed and Aunt Cass turned back around to resume reprimanding her other charge. 

Varian saw Hiro mouth him a wordless "thank you" before scurrying off, which Varian appreciated. It was nice to know that he'd manage to do something right for once.

* * *

Hiro dashed upstairs and helped Baymax into his charging station. Then he called Megan. Aunt Cass hadn't said anything to him yet about Big Hero Six and he was hoping his friend had changed her mind about telling. 

"Hey Hiro. Sorry, but I can't talk." She whispered to him in a hushed voice as soon as she picked up. 

Then he heard Cruz yell at her over the other end. 

"Who is it?" 

"It's just Hiro, dad. He wanted to know if I was alright" She yelled back. 

"Okay, but make it quick, you're still grounded after all." The policeman ordered and Hiro heard footsteps and a door closing. 

"Good, he's gone." Megan sighed in relief. "In case you're wondering I didn't tell him." 

"I figured that." Hiro admitted and then with a pause he asked her, "Why not?"

He heard Megan heave another sigh. 

"Look, today I did something really stupid and terrifying just to save someone I love. And I almost got myself killed while doing it. Yet, I also know that I would do it a second time if I had to."

Another sigh, as if she was steeling herself to admit what she had to say next.

"I still don't agree with you being a superhero, buuuut I'm not going to stop you. I guess understand now why you do it, and you're the one who needs to make the decision to quit. Not anyone else. Just promise me, no more secrets, ok?" 

"Okay." Hiro agreed and then he added, "Maybe once you're un-grounded we can go get that milkshake?" 

He couldn't hear Megan smile but he knew that she was anyways when she answered back, "Alright, but you're paying. Also you need to buy Varian one too. He saved everyone's butts back there, big time." 

"Yeah, I'll find a way to make it up to him as well. See you, in what, two weeks?" 

"Just a week. Dad won't stay mad once he sees the awesome Father's Day gift I got him. I'll see you then and I'll want a double fudge swirl." 

They hung up and Hiro felt as if some huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He didn't enjoy having to blow Megan off with lame excuses anymore than she enjoyed hearing them, and he was glad now that that would no longer be an issue between them.

* * *

Ian Williams slammed the door to his office, trying to shut out the nagging voice of his boss. He hated Mr. Krei, he hated working at Krei Tech, but most of all he hated  _ losing _ .

Ian ditched the duffle bag that held his Hardlight suit and gear into the bottom drawer of his private office cabinet. He had a special encrypted lock built into it so no one could snope around and discover his secret life as supervillain. 

He was still in a rage over what had happened today. It wasn't  _ fair _ . His gear had malfunctioned. Those losers must have cheated somehow. He deserved a do-over. 

He closed the drawer and locked it and then went about tidying up his desk. Ian was an unassuming looking fellow. A stereotypical geek, right down to his pocket protector and thick rimmed glasses. What no one knew though, was that Ian was a thrill seeker, always looking out for a new challenge. He'd grown bored with the usual video games, mental puzzles, and high exhilaration activities like skydiving and white water rafting. 

So few things combined both his high intellect and his athleticism. But taking down superheroes? Now there was a worthy test of both skill and brains. He'd be the best if he could beat Big Hero Six. He'd finally get both that adrenaline rush and the praise that he so longed for. 

Just then Ian noticed a disc lying on his desk that he hadn't put there himself. There was a note attached to the case and it was addressed to him. 

_ Dear Hardlight,  _

_ Or should I call you, Ian? Either way, this disc contains information regarding today's fight that I'm sure you will find interesting.  _

_ Sincerely,  _

_ The Boss  _

Ian panicked. Who knew that he was Hardlight? Who was this 'Boss'? Surely not Krei. That man never got Ian's name right, instead he'd mistakenly call him 'Ethan' or something similar. He looked around his small office but there was no other sign that anyone had been there. 

Without knowing what else to do, Ian popped the disc into his computer. There was only a single video file attached. He pulled it up. 

The video showed the image of a kid wearing goggles sabotaging his precious projectors. So BH6 had cheated. Well Ian would just have to even the odds for next time wouldn't he? He gave an evil grin as he took note of the boy who had ruined his plans. He'd just found his newest opponent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is like as long as whole real episode, ugh.   
> I got Ian's last name from his voice actor. Also I took the more scientific route for his powers.   
> This is also why I'm ditching the Fugitive arc. I thought both Cruz and Megan were made to be too unlikable in that so I'm going my own way for thier's and other character's arcs.


	20. Therapy

Varian sat on the leather couch inside the doctor’s office nervously bouncing his knee up and down. He didn’t want to be here. He wanted to run, but he knew that would upset Aunt Cass who was seated on the chair next to the door. 

This was meant to be his first therapy session and he didn’t know what to expect, or to say, or what to do. Both Hiro and Wasabi had told him that all he had to do was talk to the doctor about his problems, but Varian didn’t really feel like talking. He didn’t feel like delving into his past and reliving those painful memories. Moreover, he didn’t want anyone in this world to know of his mistakes, even if they were just a stranger. 

Just then the door opened and a tall woman with short bobbed hair and glasses walked in. She wore a white lab coat and held in her hand a clipboard and pen. 

“Hello, Miss Templeton. Are we here to see Hiro today?” The woman asked Aunt Cass. 

“Oh hi, Dr. Mcguire.” Aunt Cass stood up to shake her hand. “No, I called earlier and told the secretary this, but I’d like you to meet Varian. Varian this is Dr. Mcguire. She’s our family therapist.”The woman smiled and shook his hand as well, as Aunt Cass contunited. “Varian is from Europe and I’m fostering him while he’s here in the states.” 

“Oh exciting!” The woman enthused. “Is this your first therapy session, Varian?” 

Varian nodded his head numbly, still too unsure of himself to speak. 

“Well there’s many different types of therapy. I’m a grief counselor. I use different techniques to help people deal with loss or trauma, such as, listening to people talk about their feelings and problems, helping people develop healthy coping mechanisms for anxiety or depression, helping people pinpoint or understand where their underlying issues are and what might cause them to react the way they do to certain situations, and basically anything else that helps the patient cope with their grief.” 

Varian listened to the woman intently but none of what she said made any sense to him. He knew what all those words individually meant on their own but all together it just sounded like a word salad to him. He had no idea what any of that actually entailed in practice. 

"Well, now Varian, tell me a little about yourself?" The doctor asked as she sat at her desk. 

Varian only stared blankly at her, unsure what she wanted to hear. 

Dr. Mcguire expounded "Do you have any interests or hobbies?" 

Varian looked back to Aunt Cass questionly and she gave him an encouraging smile and a go on motion with her hands. 

"Ummm...I like alchemy." 

"Alchemy? Like the history of it, or is that some new video game I haven't heard of yet?" Dr. Mcguire gently laughed at herself. "My kids are always trying to get me into the lastest gaming craze and I can never seem to get the hang of it." 

Varian once again could only stare. He'd played a few video games with Hiro and Fred, but he had no idea what was deemed popular or not. Nor did he know how to explain to this woman that he was a practitioner of a long dead science. 

When this didn't elect a response from him the doctor tried a new line of questioning. 

"Do you have a favorite video game?" 

Varian shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't played many of them. We didn't have video games back in Old Corona." 

"That's the city he came from." Aunt Cass explained. "Varian is from a Russia territory." 

"Oh. Well, what did you play in Old Corona?" Dr. Mcguire asked. 

"Not much." Varian racked his brain for a childhood game, but there had been no other kids to play with and his dad was not much for chess. 

"My cellmate and I would play 'Noughts and Crosses' to pass the time. It's a little like Gomoku, but you try to get three in a row instead of five, and you just draw an X or O on to a grid you drew in the sand instead of having a board and colored pieces.' 

"Oh we call that tic-tac-toe here." Aunt Cass cheerfully said, not immediately picking up on his mention of being in jail. 

The doctor however did notice. "Cellmate?" She asked with concern. 

Varian clamped his mouth shut at that. He didn't want to go into why he had been in prison, certainly not with Aunt Cass there.

Sensing the Varian's discomfort and seeing Dr. Mcguire's confusion, Aunt Cass spoke up. "I'm guessing the secretary didn't give you the forms we filled out?" 

"No, I'm afraid not. I saw your name on the appointment and just assumed it was time again for Hiro's session. I'm sorry, that was unprofessional of me to assume and not come prepared. Would you like to reschedule?" 

Aunt Cass looked to Varian. "It's up to you, sweetie."

Varian really didn't want to go through all this again. "No. I'm good." 

"Well do you feel like talking about what's wrong then?" She asked. 

Varian tightened his jaw, unsure how to say no to the woman. But Dr. Mcguire knew her business and understood what Varian meant even without words. 

"It's ok." She soothed. "You don't have to talk about anything you don't want to. We're not here to make you feel uncomfortable. Therapy is supposed to help, not hurt." 

This relaxed Varian a little, but only a little. He didn't know what either adult wanted from him then. 

"Varian, would it help if I left?" Aunt Cass offered. "Or would you prefer that I stay? Either one is fine. It's your choice." 

Varian looked back and forth between both women trying to decide. He honestly didn't know which would be more stressful; dealing with the doctor alone or risking slipping up again and having Aunt Cass find out about his past crimes. 

"I...maybe?" He eventually answered. 

"Alright then. I'll be just right outside the door if you need me." She stood up, walked over to Varian, gave him a peck on the forehead and an encouraging smile before closing the door and leaving. 

Varian had to admit, he could breath more easily now that she'd left the room. 

"Well," Dr. Mcguire spoke back up, "if you rather not talk about your issues right now, would you like to write about them instead?" 

Varian gave her a confused look and in response she dug into a drawer in her desk and pulled out a notebook. 

"Sometimes people find it easier to write about things than to talk about them. I often give my patiences journals, so that they can get out their feelings about stuff, make goals and plans, or to help keep track of their triggers and their responses." 

She handed the notebook to Varian. It was thin and curiously printed on the front were images of lizards with hats and sunglasses riding upon skateboards. Varian might have thought it absurd looking but he was distracted by something that the doctor had said. 

"Triggers?" He asked. 

"A 'trigger' is anything that might make someone remember their trauma. It can be anything from a familiar sound or object, to an action or situation that is similar to an event that the person went through. When someone who's been through trauma comes across one of their triggers they might experience a panic attack, flashbacks, get angry or upset, or even completely shut down so to speak." 

Varian studied the woman thoughtfully. Wasabi had described what a panic attack felt like and it sounded eerily similar to what he had felt when he ran away that day. The way he felt after having a nightmare. The way he'd felt when he had come home to find his dad unmoving in the amber. 

“Do..do nightmares count?” He asked hesitantly.

“Well, yes, in a way. Nightmares are often associated with PTSD. They are a way for your mind to process what has happened to you. But they can also be caused by other things, like stress, anxiety, or just a lack of sleep. You’d have to dream about something multiple times and analyze those dreams in order to figure out their cause.” 

She paused and studied Varian intently before continuing. "Some people write dream diaries to track the patterns of what they dream and when. You write what you've dreamed, good or bad, when you wake up. You also may write things like what time you went to bed, how long did you sleep, or what you may have eaten that day as those can affect how well you sleep."

"You could use your journal for that." She gently suggested. 

"Then...then I show it to you?" He asked in kind. 

"If you want to. Though, once again, you don't have to do anything that you don't want to." 

"But, if I did, would it help?" Varian pressed, "Would it get rid of them?"

"It might help." The woman said measuredly. "Though it might not. Or you may need to do that along with a combination of things. The only way to find out is to try it."

Dr. Mcguire gave him a soft smile and Varian turned her words over in his mind. He would love for the nightmares to stop. They had only become more frequent since he moved in with the Hamada's. As if deep down he feared this new change in his life would become permanent and his subconscious was warning him to return home before it was too late. But, even still, while the doctor was right about not knowing till you tried, he worried over his past and what she or others might think of him once known. Then again, no reason to take a dream literally, right?

"I've..I...I've been having nightmares lately." He finally admitted. Dr. Mcguire only nodded along. She most likely had already guessed as much, but she didn't interrupt. 

"They're always different. Like they're about different things. Sometimes they're about my home or my dad, sometimes about my friends, both old and new, and sometimes about, ummm, being in jail." He muttered this last part but then quickly contunited on, "They all end the same way though. With me being alone." 

He met the doctor's eyes questioningly, wondering how she might respond. She looked to be contemplating over what he'd just confessed. 

"Hmmm…Well dreams are rarely the same each time. It's usually just the repeated elements that we look for when analyzing. That's how the journal would help. But it looks like you figured out one of those elements on your own. Does being alone scare you?" 

Varian looked at her wide eyed. He didn't know how to feel about having one of his greatest fears pointed out to him. It was true of course, but he didn't like to admit it. 

"A, little." He admitted sheepishly.

"A lot of people fear being alone. We're social creatures. Humans need other humans and so we seek out relationships. It's nothing to be embarrassed about." Mcguire tried to ease his fear. 

"Were you on your own in jail? Did you feel alone there?" She pressed. 

"No, well sometimes, but like I said I at least had a cellmate. That's better than when I was completely on my own before then." 

Dr. Mcguire face grew more concerned but she didn't pursue anything else about his time alone. Instead she asked, "Were you friends with your cellmate?" 

"No." Varian scoffed, complaining about Andrew was easier than talking about his time spent on the run. "Dude was a creep." 

"Oh, did you fight with him often?" 

"Not usually. In fact we got along fine, but that's only because he'd pretend to be nice to get what he wanted. I always knew that's what he was doing, but I, guess I just went along with it because….because it was better than not talking to anybody at all." 

Dr. Mcguire furrowed her brow, "What did he want from you then?" 

Varian wiggled in his seat at that. He didn't want to go into the prison break and what followed thereafter. "Just….stuff." 

This did not ease the doctor's fear. "How old were you when you went to jail?" 

"I had just turned fifteen." He didn't know where this was going. 

"And your cellmate was what, also fifteen, sixteen?" She guessed. 

"Oh no. Corona doesn't have, what did the policeman call it, 'juvenile detention center.' Anyways, uh, I'm not sure what age Andrew was. He never said, but I would guess, like, late twenties?" Varian shrugged but he only became even more confused when he noted the look of horror on Dr Mcguire's face. 

"And where were the guards when he was making you do… stuff?" She tried to hide it but Varian could still hear the way her voice shook. 

"Ummm...well the guards make their rounds of the cells every ten minutes and stand guard at the door between then. Or they're supposed to, anyways. Sometimes they're late or they're switching shifts, or even sometimes asleep." He broke from his matter of fact statement with a little laugh. "I once saw Pete the guard fall asleep while standing up and Stan, the other guard, had to prop him up with his spear to keep the Captain from noticing." He whispered conspiratorially as if imparting some juicy bit of gossip. 

But the doctor wasn't amused. 

"It would appear that your home country has a very different legal system than ours." She stated as if trying to find a way to navigate Varian's revelations. 

"I'll say." He snorted. Complaining about the conditions of the dungeon itself didn't bother him as much as admitting how he'd got there. He supposed it was because _everyone_ suffered the same indignity as he did while there. So he didn't feel singled out.

"I saw what those cells down at the police station here looked like last week. Let me tell you. They were pristine." He began to number the differences on his fingers." Clean, not drafty, there were toilets, electric lights. I was on the bottom floor of the dungeon and all we had was a grate on the ceiling that let the tiniest bit of light and air in from the cell above us. Of course that wasn't much cause that cell only had a small window to begin with." 

The doctor interrupted his ramble. "But what about when you were aloud outside?"

"Outside?" He echoed in confusion. "We never went outside. Who'd let criminals out of their cells willingly?"

Dr. Mcguire darted her eyes back and forth as if equally flabbergasted. "But, but what about for exercise!? Showers!? Mealtimes!?" 

Varian looked at her unsure how to answer, now only realising just how vastly different the two realities really were. 

"We ate in the cells." He said flatly in lieu of anything else. "Is the food better here too?"

"I don't know? What did they serve you?" 

"Usually gruel, or bread and water. Sometimes we'd get scraps from the castle's kitchen. Like leftover bone broth before it went bad. I guess not to starve us completely." 

"Castle?" She echoed hollowly. 

"The jail is underneath the government's palace." He explained. 

"And is that the only prison? Wouldn't that get over full?" 

"Yeah, it does. That's why they only keep people there until they ship them off on the prison barge or…. til they hang them." He quietly admitted. 

This seemed to be the last straw for the doctor. 

She took a deep, shuddering breath and tried to compose herself.

"Well, that..uh..we seem to be reaching near the end of our session. How about we bring Miss. Templeton back in?" She flashed him a strained grin, but Varian knew she was rattled and he feared he'd said too much or had done the wrong thing. 

"You mean Aunt Cass?" He asked. 

"Yes. So you call her 'aunt' too?" He nodded. " Well let's get your aunt in here and we'll talk about how best to continue your therapy."

Dr. Mcguire walked out and Varian could hear her and Aunt Cass having a hushed and hurried conversion. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but he knew it was about him. Soon after, they both reentered the room and Aunt Cass took a seat next to him on the couch. 

Dr. Mcguire sat at her desk again and proceeded to make an announcement. 

"So Varian and I have talked a little and he's decided that he's going to keep a dream diary, which he can share with me during our next few sessions if he would like. However, I feel that Varian might benefit from seeing a specialist." 

Varian heart dropped. He was being turned away? He'd somehow managed to screw up his first therapy session so bad the doctor was pawning him off to someone else. 

"But, aren't you a specialist?" Aunt Cass asked, equally confused. 

"Yes, but I deal with post trauma, sudden events, like a car accident or the recent death of a family member. After talking to Varian, it appears he's been through _prolonged_ trauma. It'll take a few more sessions to confirm this but, he may have _Complex_ Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It's related to regular PTSD, there is some overlap in symptoms, but ultimately it requires different treatment." 

Varian's stomach began to churn and he felt his heartbeat quicken. All he heard, behind the doctor's unfamiliar terminology, was that he was somehow, wrong or broken, more so than even the troubled patients she normally worked with. He wanted to cry, but instead he blinked back tears as Dr. Mcguire contunited. 

"I have the name of a psychiatrist that I can recommend. I've worked with him before alongside other patients." 

She handed a business card to Aunt Cass who leaned forward to take from her. As she read it the doctor went on. 

"Dr. Brown deals with former soldiers, war refugees, abuse victims, and others who've had to endure extremely harsh conditions. He's better experienced in such cases and as a psychiatrist he can also prescribe any medicine that Varian might need." 

"Medicine!?" Varian exploded and both women looked at him with concern. "But, but I'm not sick." He whined in protest. 

Dr. Mcguire stood up and walked over to him. She knelt down to his level and looked him in the eye. 

"I don't know if you are or aren't, diagnoses of mental illnesses take time, but you might still need prescribed medication even if you don't have an illness. You mentioned not sleeping well, something as simple as a herbal tea with added melatonin could help with that. However as a _psychologist,_ and not a psychiatrist, I can't legally write you a prescription for that, nor should I." 

Varian darted his eyes about the room in confusion. Logically what the woman said made sense, he supposed, but that didn't stop his anxiety from raising. He felt cornered. He wanted to run again, but Aunt Cass's gentle hand upon his shoulder rooted him to the couch. 

"Look, you're still welcome to come see me." Dr. Mcguire reassured him. "I'll gladly help you in any way that I can. I just think Dr. Brown could do even more to help you." 

"We just want what's best for you." Aunt Cass interjected. "Thank you, Dr. Mcguire. I'll give this Dr. Brown a call today when we get home." 

And that was the end of it. They said their goodbyes and left. 

On the whole way home, Varian sulked in the passenger seat as he stared dispondingly out the window. He could feel Aunt Cass nervously stealing glances of him, probably afraid he may jump out of the car again and try to run away. 

She attempted to say something a few times, but thought better of it and kept quiet. The uncomfortable silence weighing upon them both until they arrived back at the Luck Cat. 

Varian tore out of the car, pounded up the stairs, and was just about to run towards his new room, when he heard Aunt Cass say. "We need to talk." 

Varian found himself sitting on a couch for the second time that day. This one in Hamada living room. He eyed Aunt Cass pensively and waited for yet another lecture. 

"Sooo, I know that didn't go as well as we hoped today, but hey, we made some progress!" She gave him a plastered grin as she tried to find the silver lining. Varian only gave her a look as if she was crazy and rolled his eyes. 

She heaved a heavy sigh. 

"Varian, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. Lots of people see special psychiatrists. That's what they're for. They wouldn't exist if people didn't need them." 

Varian still refused to meet her gaze.

"Also, not everyone finds the right therapist on their first try. It took me a whole year and three different doctors before I found Dr. Mcguire." 

Varian did look at her upon that revelation, this time with surprise on his face. 

Aunt Cass gave him a small smile. 

"Did you think you were the only one who needed therapy?" She gently teased, before admitting, "I was only 24 when I took in Tadashi and Hiro. I didn't know how to be a parent. I didn't know how to handle two grieving little boys nor the emotional roller coaster I was on as well. I had to get help. I had to try out different doctors, different types of therapy, even took medication for a little while, and it took time but in the end it did make things better for all of us. I just want you to get better as well." 

Varian processed this confession as he wrestled with his growing sense of shame and despair.

"But...but…you never did anything to deserve that. It was just a bad thing that happened to you.. I… I on the other hand…I wasn't in that jail for no reason." He confessed before bursting into tears. 

"I don't care." Aunt Cass quietly said. 

Varian looked back in surprise again. She stood before him with worry etched onto her face. 

"I don't care what you did." She reiterated. "It doesn't matter." 

She bent down and cupped Varian's face into her hand, just as she did when he returned after running away. 

"Varian, no one deserves to be treated the way you were. Especially a child. That..that was just cruel." Her voice broke. "Cruel, and inhumane, and oh god, what ever did they do to you to make you think you deserved it?" It was her turn to cry as she scooped Varian into a hug. 

Varian blinked rapidly, both because of the tears and because he hadn't been expecting this reaction. He knew he was at fault. Everyone in the kingdom knew it. They all blamed him for what happened and threw nothing but scorn his way. The only reason that Aunt Cass and everyone else didn't hate him too was because they didn't know, surely. But the sincerity in her voice, the tender loving embrace, the way she put up with him and his stupid mistakes around the house, all made him desperate to believe her. So he hugged her tightly back. 

"But.. But.. I'm not 'no one'" The tears flowed freely now. "I'm...I'm…I'm not like anyone. The doctor said so herself, today." 

"No!" She pulled away from the embrace to look him dead in the eye. "No. She said you needed help that she couldn't give. Dr. Brown, though, _can_. He deals with people who've been through what you've been through. You're not alone. You're not broken. You're not weird. And you are most certainly not deserving of being thrown in a dungeon." 

She wiped her fingers through his bangs, a sign of affection he'd come to recognize from her, and blinking back tears said, "Oh how I wish I could have been there for you sooner. But I'm here now. And so is Hiro, all your friends, Chief Cruz, Professor Granville, and Dr. Mcguire. Ok? We are all here for you now, and we love you, and nothing is going to change that. And now Dr. Brown will be there for you too. So please, let us help you." 

Varian searched her eyes. These were words he had longed to hear for who knew how long, but when faced with them for real he had trouble giving into them; to believing them. The nagging voice in his head was screaming at him, warning him that it wasn't true, that they would all abandon him as soon as he screwed up or they found out the truth of his past, the same as how everyone else had given up on him, told him how he didn't deserve such kindness, ect.,but he didn't care. He _wanted_ it to be true. 

He nodded yes and flung his arms around Aunt Cass again. They remained that way, just holding each other for several minutes. While Aunt Cass stroked his hair and cooed reassuring words. How she loved him, how she wasn't going anywhere, how he was her child now and nothing would change that. He wasn't sure if he was ready to accept her as a parent yet, to him his dad was the only parent he needed, but he deeply appreciated all that she had done, all that she promised to do, and it felt good to finally be accepted somewhere, to be _wanted_. 

When they finally stopped hugging Aunt Cass said she was going to call Dr. Brown and set up an appointment. She then stroked the top of his head again and asked if he wanted to help her bake something special for dinner. He nodded yes and they both put the unfortunate incident at the therapist behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We see the dungeon cells and the guards routines several times in the show so I pulled from there. Everything Varian talks about is backed up by something in the show itself. 
> 
> Also Aunt Cass says everybody needs therapy and there's nothing wrong with that!


	21. Fishing Trip

"So what do you wanna do this weekend?" Hiro asked Varian. 

The other boy only shrugged his shoulders as he had no idea. 

It was Friday and they were both walking home from school while trying to make plans for the weekend. All of their other friends were either away or busy due to Father's Day coming up. Fred was going to accompany his dad on a mission. Gogo was driving down to her father's for a few days. Wasabi had bought plane tickets to fly back to his hometown of Seattle. Karmi went back upstate for the weekend with her parents, and Megan was still grounded, but had a full day planned to butter up her dad. Even Honey Lemon was going home to spend time with her abuelo. 

This left Varian feeling a little awkward. In Corona they had a Guardians Day, which was meant for both parents or caretakers in general, but for Varian it was always a day for just him and his dad to spend time together. One of the few times in the year when his father wouldn't work in the field, or go to market, or have business at court. 

Varian knew precisely what a day like Father's Day meant and how special time spent with the man who raised you could be. He envied his friends, but mostly, knowing this would be the second year without his dad pained him. 

In a way, he was thankful that Hiro shared his delima. Though he certainly wouldn't have wished his predicament upon anyone, it was still somewhat comforting to know that he wasn't alone. 

They were a less than a block away from the Lucky Cat, still discussing things to do, when a sleek car pulled to a stop beside them. The window rolled down to reveal a man with blonde hair, a large nose, and a wide smile. He was wearing a plaid shirt and a tan floppy hat. 

"Hey Hiro! Go grab your overnight bag and some sunscreen!" He joyously ordered. "Your new brother, cousin, thingy too. We're going fishing!" 

Varian could only look on confused, he didn't know this man nor why he wanted to him and Hiro to go on a fishing trip with him. However, Hiro apparently did know him and was also apparently not onboard with this idea at all. He stood with his mouth a gape and a look of horror in his eyes. 

After processing this terrible news, Hiro could only sputter out, "But.. but why?" 

The man in the vehicle began to offhandedly list his reasons. "Because fishing by oneself isn't any fun unless there's someone else around to show off to. Because I had an awful childhood, whose own father would never take fishing, and now I'm living vicariously through you. Also, you're still my intern and for the rest of the year, I still own you." 

The man flashed another wide grin and Varian began to put the pieces together. This must be Krei. Owner of Krei Tech, the man in charge of the portals that brought him here, and also Hiro's boss. Though, this new revelation did nothing to stem the confusion in his mind. He couldn't for life of him see why he was being invited along on the trip nor did he understand Hiro's objections. 

"But...but...b, but…" Hiro suttered desperately trying to think of way out of going.

"No buts! I've already talked with your aunt and got her permission, reserved the campsite, and I even bought you both fishing poles!" Still grinning, he reached down beside him and lifted the new poles up for Hiro and Varian to see. 

Hiro let out a wordless half groan, half whine in defeat, before turning around and slumping towards the cafe. Varian blinked and looked back and forth between the two of them unsure what to do. Krei waved to him cheerfully, clearly excited for the upcoming trip, and Varian numbly waved back before deciding to follow Hiro and pack his own bag.

* * *

Varian found himself enjoying the fishing trip more than he had expected. The first day was spent mainly getting there and setting up the campsite. The second day was spent fishing, exploring, and just taking in the scenery. 

Varian had been allowed to bring Ruddiger along, as Hiro had also brought Baymax. His pet was overjoyed to be back in his natural environment and Varian had to admit that he felt more at home here in the great outdoors than in the crowded streets of San Fansokyo. The big city was fascinating but he'd always be a simple farm boy at heart. 

Krei felt much the same way. The businessman hadn't been raised in the countryside the way Varian had, but he had a great love of camping, fishing, and being out in nature. His passion stemmed from childhood summers spent on vacation at something called 'summer camp'. 

Varian found he got along with older man well. They spent the ride up chatting about science and it's more practical applications, spent the trip sharing wilderness tips, and fishing out in Krei's boat. Fishing had never been Varian's favorite activity, but he now found a new sense of nostalgia for it and the praise Krei would send his way whenever he caught one helped to fuel his enjoyment of the sport even more. Plus he got a chance to show off his cooking skills after they had cleaned their catch. Not the most pleasant task ever, but Varian could stomach it much better than butchering other kinds of meat. 

Hiro however did not enjoy fishing, or camping, or anything to do with the outdoors really. The other teen mostly sulked the whole trip. When he wasn't busy gagging at the worms used for bait or getting scared by the unfamiliar sounds of the local wildlife that is. Mainly he stuck close to Baymax and the tent, bored out his mind and annoyed he had been forced to come along. Varian's enthusiasm only aggravated him further and, if he was being honest with himself, he was a little jealous by how easy things came to the other boy. He'd spent half a year trying to get on Krei's good side and impress him, while Varian had managed it in mere minutes of meeting the CEO. 

The only time Hiro came out of his grumpy shell was at night, when they built a campfire and roasted marshmallows. Varian had never had smores before, but they were tasty, if also sticky and a little too sweet. Ruddiger however went nuts over the fluffy sweets and had to be kept from stealing the whole bag of them. Hiro didn't really care one way or the other about the traditional treat, but was more than eager to share ghost stories with the rest of the group. Gleefully recalling with gory detail about the spirit of an ax murderer who apparently stalked the woods. Perhaps it was a little vindictive of him, to try his best and scare the other teen, but Hiro couldn't help filling a little thrill whenever Varian gave a little jump or clutched his pet raccoon even tighter in comfort. 

Keri was only amused by the story. He'd heard similar ones growing up at camp. He laughed at the end of Hiro's tale. 

"Ha! Kids are still telling that one? Let me tell you a real horror story." 

It was about tax audits. 

Both boys could only shrug at each other. 

"I do not understand the purpose of a 'ghost story'." Baymax observed. 

"It's suppose to be for fun." Hiro informed him. 

"I see; an adrenaline rush within a safe and controlled environment can be considered a pleasant feeling for some people. However I do not understand how taxes figure into that." 

"Uuuuh, neither do we." Hiro admitted, "but I guess fear is subjective. Do you have any stories to share, Varian?" 

Varian had to rack his brain on that one. His own life was more of a horror story then most ghost tales he knew, but he didn't want to devel into that. Instead he told a folk legend that his dad had once told him. It had been an old story from his father's home country; a parable about a rich man who was so greedy that he hoarded a well from the poor townspeople during a drought. Forcing them to pay him tribute lest they die of thirst, but he made the mistake of refusing water to a witch and so was cursed to become a vampire. To spend an eternity in thirst himself and to be forever alone, because he could no longer get close to other people without risking harm to them. 

"And so a leader must care for his people, son," he remembered his father instructing him at the end of the tale, "He must share and give back to the community. He who sacrifices love for his fellow man in exchanged for selfish possessions, forfeits his right to live among mankind and to even be called a 'man' himself." 

If only his father's words had been true. If real life had been as simple as stories, then Corona would have sided with him and not the evil king who kept the wondrous healing flower hidden away and who turned his back upon people need. But Varian conveniently left out this more personal anecdote. 

"Wow." Hiro said flatly. "That's deep." 

He wasn't used to horror stories having explicit morals attached to them and didn't know how else to respond. The tale hadn't been scary so much as eerie with an unnerving ending. Unlike his serial killer story, it wasn't anything you could be afraid of happening to you, yet questioning your place in the world was somehow more off putting than simple dismemberment.

The mood was broken however, by Ruddiger stealing Hiro's marshmallow off his roasting stick. It turned out to be last one as Krei had spent the majority of Varian's story battling the gluttonous raccoon over their food stores. 

"I know racoons aren't 'mankind', but does this mean he's doomed to be a marshmallow vampire now?" Hiro joked as Varian got onto his pet. 

"I don't know. Your robot looks like a walking marshmallow though." Varian shot back good naturedly.

Now out of food, save for leftover fish, they all decided to tuck in for the night.

* * *

Hiro hated the woods. He hated how unfamiliar everything was, how inconvenient it was, and most of all he hated how _gross_ it was. He woke up irritated and sore from sleeping on the thin sleeping bag inside the tent. He couldn't find anything decent to eat for breakfast. He never stopped grumbling while he was forced to use the bathroom outside. To make an awful morning even worst, he couldn't shake the feeling of being stalked as strange animals hooted and howled. One bush in particular shook right when he pasted it. He nearly jumped out of skin when Ruddiger pop out of it holding the last of the fish in its mouth. 

He groaned as he watched the raccoon scurry away and climb up a tree a little ways off from the campsite. He didn't much care for the creature, or for wild animals in general, but he knew how important the pet was to Varian and so had tried to be polite about having it around. Still Hiro's patience was wearing thin. The walking bottomless pit had eaten practically everything in the camp. 

Hiro reluctantly followed after, debating if it was worth trying to get the fish back. Probably not, he didn't even like the taste of fish all that much to begin with. He stopped in surprise when an apple core fell from tree and nearly hit him. He looked up and found Varian sitting in one of the top branches, raccoon by his side, and reaching up to pick another apple off the tree. 

The other teen paused when he saw Hiro. "Hey! Morning! You wanna an apple for breakfast?" 

Hiro's stomach growled in response but all he actually said was, "How did you get up there?" 

Varian laughed, "Climbed up here. How else you do think? Fly?" 

Hiro looked up at him blankly. It was an obvious answer, of course, and he felt silly for having asked it. 

"Come on up!" Varian encouraged. "There's plenty of apples to go around." 

"I..I can't." Hiro admitted sheepishly. 

"Why not?" 

"I don't know how to climb a tree." He mumbled. 

Varian looked surprised by this revelation and before Hiro could do anything else, the other boy quickly climbed back down to join him. 

“You never climb a tree before?” 

‘Well, I did once, with Baymax’s help.” He rubbed the back of his neck self consciously. 

“It’s not like there’s a whole lot of trees in San Fransokyo to climb.” 

“Oh, well, it’s easy. Here, I’ll show you. Just put your foot there, in that knot, and place your hand here on this bump in the bark.” Varian instructed, helping Hiro find the footholds. “Now you see that groove up here, place your other foot there, and as you hoist yourself up grab that lowest branch with your other hand, like climbing a really uneven ladder.” 

Hiro did so, though not without some struggling, but eventually he pulled himself up onto the lowest branch. 

“Great!” Varian cheered and followed after with practiced ease. “The hardest parts done. Now all you gotta do is swing up the rest of the branches, like so.” 

Varian took off, showing Hiro the best way to navigate the tree top. Hiro followed him, mimicking the other boys actions. With great effort he hauled himself up onto the final branch and heaved a ‘wooooph’ in relief of having made it up. 

His sigh quickly turned to awe though when he caught sight of the view. The early morning sun sparkled on the lake. Further out a misty fog was beginning to disperse and you could see the opposite shoreline reflected in the water like glass. Beyond that giant redwoods poked out of the canopy of trees and way, way off in the distance you just about make out the tips of blue mountains. 

“Woah.” He breathed. Hiro had to admit, you didn’t get scenery like this in the city. 

‘Here.” Varian handed him an apple. It was smaller than the ones you’d buy in the store, with pink and yellow skin. Hiro tentatively took a bite. It was crunchy and very tart, but edible. Not to mention it was practically the only food they had left in the camp, so Hiro wound up eating it all and started in on a second one. 

“So, where did you learn to climb?” Hiro asked taking another large bite of the wild fruit. 

“Oh, I’ve been climbing trees since I could walk.” Varian laughed. “We owned an apple orchard along with the farm. Also the forest is right next to my village.” 

Ruddiger joined them, procuring his own apple and sitting right on Varian’s lap to enjoy his meal. Varian scratched his pet’s ear. 

“Does he ever get full?” Hiro asked. 

“Nope.” Varian replied, and then they both broke into giggles. 

Once the laughter had subsided Hiro commented, “I guess that’s why you’re so good at this outdoors stuff. This is the first time I ever been fishing, and with any luck, it’ll be my last.” 

“My dad taught me.” Varian quietly confessed. “He’d take me on trips like this sometimes. Try to teach me how to hunt and fish. The fishing is a lot better than the hunting, let me tell you. I never could fire an arrow right and I can’t stand the sight of blood.” He cringed as if recalling a gruesome memory. “But, I guess he was just looking out for me. He taught me the skills he had to live on to survive. Apparently there were no farms where he grew up, the land was always baren. I guess that’s why he preferred gardening to being a knight.” 

“Wait, your dad was an actual for real knight?” 

Varian nodded, “Yeah, I found his armor after...after the accident. Along with a bunch of other important stuff he never told me about.” He added bitterly. 

Hiro didn’t know how to respond to that. So he stayed quiet and let Varian dictate the conversation. 

“Anyways, it worked. The fishing did come in handy. I had to do a lot of that, when.. when I was on my own.” He worked his jaw as he mulled over that last confession, his eyes gazing out to into the distance, clearly not seeing the breathtaking view before them.

Hiro’s heart dropped. He had a vague idea of what happened to Varian, but this was the first time it really hit home just how messed up the other’s teen’s life had been before now. He could empathize with losing a loved one, but he had always had his aunt and his friends to depend upon. If nothing else to be there and take care of him as he sank into depression. But Varian had to do everything for himself, even while battling that same depression. The idea of having to catch or scavenge for your own food on top caring for you ill father was a nightmare that Hiro could barely comprehend. A nightmare that only somehow got worse. 

“Fortunately, there’s a river that runs through my village, and I could set up lines overnight and just go check them in the morning, and we had food stored up for winter. Like oats, bacon, dried peas, that sort of thing. That is, until spring rolled around and the king's guards run me out of my house.” He said irritably.”Then I just had to forage or steal to survive.” 

“Be...because you stole medicine?” Hiro asked disquietly. He couldn’t imagine a world so cruel and yet to his surprise the story got even worse. 

“Oh no, this was before I stole the flower.” Varian said matter of factly and Hiro just stared at him in horror. Varian heaved a heavy sigh and went on to explain. “My father was the only other person who knew about the sundrop. The king kept it hidden from everyone. I guess when he found out that my dad, was, was ‘gone’, he decided to try and remove me from the picture, so as to keep his secret safe. He made a bunch of false charges about me ‘attacking the princess’ so that no one would believe me when I asked for help or told them the truth about the flower. Then he sent his elite guard to arrest me and I had to run.” 

Varian gave a little shrug and added, “I guess after that, ‘treason’ didn’t seem like that big of deal. I mean they were going to throw me in jail either way, and not many people leave those dungeons alive.” 

Hiro could barely process what was being told to him. He didn’t know what to say. His stomach churned and his breath shallowed. Varian’s past was far scarier than any ghost story. 

Then suddenly he felt guilty. He’d been so caught up in his own grief and his own struggles with readjusting, that he hadn’t actually stopped to think about things from Varian’s perspective. He had thus far grinned and bared the discomfort of having his life turned upside down, because, well because that's what he _thought_ he needed to do in order to be a mature decent person. And while that was true in part, it never occurred to him that this move was yet another upset in Varian’s life, in a long, long string of seemingly never ending upsets. 

Hiro found himself so easily annoyed by the other teen, yet he really had no right to be. Varian was readjusting to whole new culture and way of life in addition to struggling with his grief and trauma. So what if he cooked weird food sometimes, didn’t always know the appropriate conduct to certain situations, or was so super confident in nearly everything he did that it made Hiro self conscious and a little jealous at times. Deep down, Varian was suffering through something that no one in Hiro’s little corner of the globe could fully understand, and the least that Hiro could do was try to be a little more patient and a little more open about letting Varian into his life. 

“You know,” Hiro slowly said, trying to ease the conversation and offer a little understanding, “I never really knew my dad. I was just four when he and my mom died. It was always Tadashi who taught me things, like how to ride a bike or how to hotwire a robot. Though he never taught me to climb to tree, so I guess that’s one I owe you.” 

He smiled encouragingly at Varian, who nervously returned it. Once again Varian wasn’t used to praise or acknowledgement that he did anything ‘right’. 

“Maybe, you could teach me more outdoorsy stuff.” Hiro offered. “And I can teach you more about more modern stuff, like how to play _Mind Smith II Turbo_.” 

“That..that’s that video game you like, isn’t it?” Varian asked as he tried to remember what Hiro even talking about. 

“Yeah!” and with that Hiro eagerly launched into a detailed description of the game. 

Soon the boys were interrupted by Krei emerging from the tent. He stretched sore back and tried to reheat the leftover instant coffee he’d brought. He then promptly spit it back out in disgust. The boys tried their best to suppress their snickers. Keri spotted them anyways. 

“How ‘bout we pack it up and go get tacos instead?” He asked them. 

“Yeeesss!” Yelled Hiro, who was more than ready to go. 

“Sounds great!” Agreed Varian. “We’ll be right down!” 

Keri went back in the tent to start packing and Ruddigger scurried down after him, hoping to maybe steal another treat from the camp. 

Varian stood up and started to also make his way down when Hiro’s voice stopped him. 

“Ummm...Sooo how do you get down exactly?”

* * *

The day ended with a trip to Yaki Taco and a huge feast of fast food nachos and deep fried burritos. Rudiger was once again confined to his carrying cage, but was allowed a cup of some cheese sauce to snack on. Baymax was let out of his charger case to kept an eye on the mischievous raccoon. All agreed it was actually the best part of the camping trip. 

“Say, ‘cheese’.” The robot said, as he took a photograph with his internal camera. 

The three guys sing songed the the word even as actual cheese dripped off the burritos they held in their hands, plastering on dopey grins for the camera. Then a few more pictures with silly faces to complete the set. 

“Fantastic!” Krei said. “I want copies for the office.” 

“Why?” Hiro asked. 

“So if any clients come in I show off ‘my family’ to them instead just the photo of my mother. I love the woman but she doesn’t necessarily impress the image of ‘family friendly company’.” 

“I knew there was a catch.” Hiro scoffed. 

Keri looked wounded. “Hey, I told you, my employees _are_ my family.” 

Hiro rolled his eyes but he couldn’t help giving a little smile at that. He knew Krei well enough by now to know that, underneath his seemingly conviving self-serving self, he had a heart, and he wouldn’t have invited Hiro and Varian along if he didn’t care. 

“Aunt Cass put you up to this, didn’t she?” He prodded. 

“I’m sworn to secrecy.” Krei insisted and they gave Hiro a knowing wink. Then more seriously he said, “I know what it’s like not having your dad around on Father’s Day. So, I figured, why not a fishing trip? It’s better than being stuck at home while your father’s away on a business trip to Tahiti that weekend.” 

Hiro raised in eyebrow. Keri had a tendency of oversharing at times. 

“Buuut, enough about me. Who wants dessert!?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy belated Father's Day  
> Also we all know that Krei is the boys honorary uncle now.


	22. Presents and Portals: Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: minor swearing. Like literally just one word that none of the characters say out loud, but I thought I'd be best to mention it anyways and give a friendly reminder that this story is PG not G. To my eternal annoyance Ao3 doesn't have an option for this rating.

“Hey, Miss Itamae, I hope you’re having a nice day. You, wouldn’t happen to have anything special today for someone's birthday, would ya?” Hiro asked the grumpy lunch lady before him with a nervous smile. 

Miss Itamae only gave him her customary scowl and unceremoniously dumped a scoop of mash potatoes on top of his steak and gravy. 

“Yeah...okay then.” He said wearily and moved out of the line. 

Varian slid into his previously held spot in line. 

“Heeelllooo, Miss Itamae, looking lovely as ever! Did you do something with your hair? New hair net perhaps?” Varian flashed the woman his most charming grin but Miss Itamae looked as unamused as ever. Still Hiro had to admit Varian was far more confident in his attempts to butter up the lunch lady; maintaining his witty and suave demeanor even as she dumped his scoop of mash potatoes into his chocolate pudding. “Superb aim, as always.” He said with cheery sarcasm, before turning away.

“Let’s face it. She hates us.” Hiro whispered to him as they both walked away from the line.

“I think she hates everybody.” Varian observed. 

“Then why bother with being so nice?” Karmi asked as they joined her at the lunch table. 

“Oh, cause it annoys her.” Varian chirped. 

“Yeah, we’re trying to kill her with kindness.” Hiro added. 

‘Ooookaay.” Karmi rolled her eyes and then opted to change the subject. “Sooo, _birthday_ boy, how's it feel to be fifteen?” 

“Uh, not that much different from being fourteen, honestly.” replied Hiro, as he poked at his unappetising lunch. 

“Got any celebration plans?” 

“Well, Aunt Cass is holding a birthday party later today at the Luck Cat, if you wanna come.” 

“I’d love to. What time?” 

“It’s at six. It’s nothing special, just a dinner and some cake.” 

“And I’m making the cake.” Varian excitedly added. 

“And if it’s anything like his fish pie, you’ll want to skip dessert.” Hiro warned Karmi.

Varian looked offended. “Hey! I can bake a cake. Besides it can’t be any worse than these chocolate covered potatoes.” He gave a rueful look at his plate before taking a bite of the nasty connection anyways.

“Then why are you still eating it?” 

“What!? And waste food?” He asked aghast. 

Hiro rolled his eyes, “Anyways, how did your essay go, Karmi?” 

“Great! I got an A, as usual, but I have to admit writing about bacteria’s evolving resistance to antibiotics isn’t nearly as fun as writing fan fiction.” 

“What’s fan fiction?” Varian innocently asked. 

Karmi’s eyes went wide with excitement and Hiro felt his heart stop as he knew what was coming next. 

“Only the greatest thing ever! It’s when people write stories based on stuff they like, like books, or movies. I have this whole ongoing story about Big Hero Six that I’ve been working on!” She pulled out her phone and pulled up said story before handing it to Varian. 

Hiro suppressed a groan. “Karmi, did it ever occur to you that maybe real life people wouldn’t appreciate you writing fiction about them?” 

Karmi huffed, “Shows what you know. Captain Cutie himself said he liked my work.” 

“Captain Cutie?” Varian asked, confused. 

“He’s the leader of Big Hero Six, and he’s just the dreamiest.” Karmi explained with a wistful sigh. 

Hiro felt like he was going to die of embarrassment. 

Varian looked back and forth between Karmi and Hiro in surprise as he pieced together what was happening. Finally he burst out laughing. 

“Cap..Captain, Cuuutieee!?” He wheezed, before balling up into more laughter. 

Now it was Karmi’s turn to look offended. “You got a problem with that?” 

“Nooo! Oh, no, no, N….not at all!” Varian tried to assure her between his fits of laughter. Once he had managed to compose himself, he looked her dead in the eye and said with the most sincere voice he could muster, “Captain Cutie, is the _perfect_ name.” 

He followed this up with a smarmy smile that told Hiro that he would never hear the end of this. 

“Well, it should be, _I_ came up with.” Karmi held her head up high to mask that her pride had been hurt. 

“And it’s _amazing_!” Varian enthused. “If your story is half as awesome as that name, I’ll bet it’ll be even better than a Flynn Rider book!” 

That was enough to placate her. In fact she outright blushed, knowing full well how much Varian loved Flynn Rider novels; though she herself had never read one. 

“I promise to read every word.” Varian vowed. 

“Weeell, in that case I’ll text you the link.” She took her phone back from Varian and stood up from the table. “It’ll be more than what Hiro does.” 

“Hey, I’ve read all your stories.” Hiro defended himself. Karmi looked at him accusingly and he buckled under her glare. “I just... didn’t like them.” He admitted sheepishly. 

And with that, Karmi turned her nose up into the air and stormed off in a huff. Hiro slumped down in his seat. 

“Smooth move, _Captain Cutie_.” Varian teased. 

Hiro kicked him the shin.

* * *

Hiro scrounged underneath the bed, reaching his arm out as far as it would go, but his hand grabbed hold of nothing but air. 

"I did not find anything in the sock drawer" he heard a robotic voice proclaim above the bed. 

"That's ok.. ouch… Baymax." Hiro crawled out from under the bed and rubbed the spot where he had bumped his head against the frame. He looked up to find Varian standing in the doorway watching him. 

"What are you doing?" The other boy asked with a look of concern on his face. 

Hiro was sitting in the middle of what was once Tadashi's side of the room. No one had bothered to touch his brother's things since his death, other than to occasionally dust or tidy up, so seeing both him and Baymax raiding the place was unusual. 

"Uhmmm… just...looking for something." 

Varian raised an eyebrow. 

Hiro sighed. 

"You'll think this silly, but, I was hunting for my birthday present." 

Hiro searched Varian's face to see what his reaction would be. He blinked a few times in surprise, but other than that, the older teen was careful not to say or do anything that might upset Hiro. Instead he stood by patiently, letting Hiro have the space he needed to explain things on his own terms. 

"Tadashi always liked to plan ahead for things. He'd gift stuff in advance and then hide it somewhere around the house until time to give it. I found one at Christmas, that he'd wrapped a year ahead of time, but, I don't know, I guess he didn't think that far ahead for my birthday." 

Hiro looked forlornly around the room. He felt stupid now for having even bothered to look and self-conscious at having dredged back up bad memories on what suppose to be a fun day. 

"Well, maybe he just hid it somewhere else." Varian reassured him. "Did you try the attic or the garage?" 

Hiro shook his head. 

"There, ya see? This a three story house and you haven't even searched a tenth of it. Once the party is over with I'll help you look. Okay?" 

He offered Hiro a helpful smile and Hiro returned it. 

"Okay." 

"Speaking of which," Varian continued, "Megan called and said she's on her way and everyone else should be here soon. Aunt Cass sent me up here to get you. Also the cake's done." He flashed a proud grin at that last part. 

"And what weird flavour did we come up with this time?" Hiro teased as got up to join Varian at the door. "Black pepper? Bacon? Licorice, again?" 

Varian gave him an unamused look. 

"It's _vanilla_ with _vanilla_ frosting, wise guy. Also I made sure to write in big bold letters 'Happy Birthday, Captain Cutie' on the top." He sneered. 

Hiro rolled his eyes, not believing Varian's bluff, only to second guess himself as Varian gave a smug smile as he walked off. 

"You..you didn't, did you?" 

Varian didn't answer. 

"Seriously, tell me you didn't." Hiro yelled after him as he rushed down the stairs. 

Baymax was left standing in the bedroom as he watched the two teens leave. He looked around at the mess, unsure if to follow or to stay and clean up. If robots could sigh in frustration he would have just then. Eventually his primary programming overrode his cleaning operatives and he slowly hobbled after the boys.

* * *

_Ding-dong_

“I’ll get it!” Hiro yelled as he rushed to the door to answer it. 

So far the only people to arrive at the party were Wasabi and Megan. They, along with Varian, were in the kitchen decorating the cake, which thankfully had no ‘Captain Cutie’ written on the front, while Aunt Cass busied herself with shutting down the cafe for the evening. 

Hiro opened the door to find Karmi standing there, holding a present in her hands and shuffling her feet like she was unsure of what to do. Hiro stared at her in surprise, first, because he didn’t know if she would show up after getting mad at him during lunch and second, because she wasn’t wearing her usual sweater. Instead she wore a cute summer dress. It was purple with spaghetti straps and a flared skirt that cut off right above her knees. Hiro couldn’t help but feel his cheeks flush at the sight. 

Damn it, why did she have to look so pretty? Why did he even care what she wore to begin with? What was his stupid body doing? 

She gave him a nervous smile and held out her present to him. He took it numbly, eyes still fixed on her. 

“I’m sorry for getting mad earlier today.” She said sheepishly. “I hope I’m not late.” After a slight pause she added, “You know, for the party.” 

“Oh! Oh no. Not at all.” Hiro responded, finally snapping out of his stupor. “In fact you’re early. The party got pushed back to 6:30. Fred’s running late with the balloons. But there’s some of us already here, come on in.” 

“Thanks.” She said with another small smile as she slid past him. 

“Everybody is in the kitchen decorating the cake.” He pointed her down the hallway to the upstairs kitchen and was going to show her where to go when his phone rang. 

“Hello.”

It was Keri. 

“What do you mean stolen?” Hiro asked with concern as Keri blabbered on about missing project files. 

Karmi paused and looked back at him questiongly. 

“Look, do I have to come in now?” He tore the phone away from his ear as Keri started ranting instead. 

“Okay, okay, I’ll be there soon.” He hung up. 

“What’s wrong?” She asked. 

“Uh...looks like I need to go into the office today, just for a bit.” 

“But what about your party?” 

“Oh, it shouldn’t take long.” Hiro looked at his watch. “Thirty minutes, tops.” 

“Hey, Wasabi?!” He yelled and his friend poked his head around the corner. “Do you mind giving me a lift to Keri Tech?”

* * *

“Wow. So she was behind you the whole time?” 

Hiro looked at the surveillance footage of the theft. A woman with short white hair, dressed in a red and black unitard with her face covered in matching makeup, flipped silently behind Krei, downloaded files to a flash drive off his computer, and then cartwheeled away unnoticed. 

“Can we have a little less mocking and a little more solving, please?” Krei huffed in defense. 

“I have found a biometric match.” Baymax announced. “Celine Simard; a professional physicist from Lyontreal.” 

Wasabi studied the read out on Baymax’s screen. “Says here she worked her way through college as an acrobat in the circus. Stage name, Sirque. I guess that explains the unitard.” 

“It also says she’s wanted for theft in major cities from around the globe.” Hiro added. “Any idea what she took?” 

“No idea.” Krei answered. “My personal computer has information on hundreds of top secret projects. It could’ve been anything.” 

“And with a physics degree, that means she’s smart enough to use whatever it is she took.” Wasabi ominously warned.

* * *

Hiro and Wasabi arrived back at the Luck Cat just in time for the party. Fred and the rest of their friends had arrived and were just finishing decorating the cafe. 

"Hey, so what did we miss?" Wasabi asked. 

"Oh not much." Honey Lemon answered. "Karmi was just telling us about the latest chapter of her story." 

"Yeah the one where _Captain Cutie_ and his girlfriend Lab Lady go on a romantic getaway. It's adorable." Varian mocked, and it took every bit of Hiro's willpower not to tackle him from across the room. 

"Yeah, it's real interesting. I didn't even know _Capitan Cuite_ had a girlfriend." Megan got in on the teasing and Hiro wanted to sink into the ground and disappear. 

Karmi however seemed to not to notice the meaning behind their words. "I'm glad _someone_ likes my stories. Hiro doesn't think much of them." 

"Oh he just doesn't know what's good." Megan encouraged her. "I think you're a great writer." 

"Thanks." 

"Yeah! I especially liked the cool new power ups you came up with." Fred added. 

Fortunately Aunt Cass interrupted the conversation. "Food's ready!" She sang while carrying two trays of homemade pizza. 

From there the party proceeded smoothly. They ate dinner and then played some games, with Hiro finally getting back at Varian with truth or dare. He dared the other teen to juggle some eggs, which all wound up landing on top Varian's head after only one attempt. 

Next was cake and ice cream; which Hiro had to admit turned out pretty good. Even though he was loathed to stroke Varian's ego by saying so out loud. 

Still, all went well, right up until time to open his presents. Hiro had opened most of them, save for Varian's and Karmi's. He got to Karmi's and had only just unwrapped it, when a loud booming noise from across the street was heard. Soon, the cafe shook as if hit by an earthquake. 

Everyone ducked for cover as cups and dishes clattered off the table and shelves and pictures fell off the walls. Hiro though spotted a familiar figure run pass and duck into an alley. She was wearing a unitard. 

As the shaking subsided, and before anyone could stop him, Hiro rushed out to see what had happened and hopefully to catch the culprit. 

He saw the damage from, not an explosion, but an implosion. As if something had sucked everything inward with street lamps and a mailbox bent in on themselves towards a central point. 

There was no sign of Sirque, but Hiro spotted some small metal balls lying on the ground in the center point of the wreckage. 

"Hiro? What are you doing?" Megan came up behind him. "Usually people run away from explosions not towards them." 

"And yet, here you are." He teased. She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Also it wasn't an explosion that caused this." 

He didn't get a chance to explain further as Gogo came up and told them to come back inside before Aunt Cass noticed they were gone. Hiro scooped up the clue he'd found and they headed back. 

The cafe was a mess and the party was officially deemed over with. Everyone stayed to clean up but soon one by one they all left.

First Cruz picked up Megan. Then Wasabi offered Karmi a ride back to the dorms. Gogo and Honey Lemon took their leave next, both promising to go on patrol once they had time to get their gear. 

Finally, once there was nothing left to clean, Hiro and Varian made up an excuse to Aunt Cass and rode with Fred to HQ to study the metal orbs Hiro had found.

* * *

"So..nice evening, hun?" Wabasi awkwardly tried to make small talk on the way back to the dorms. He didn't know Karmi as well as some of his other friends did and wasn't sure what to talk about. 

"Yeah." Karmi dully said as she gazed out the window, chin in her hand. 

"Yeah." Wasabi echoed in defeat. 

He wasn't getting anywhere. He racked his brain for another point of conversation, when suddenly a swirling hole appeared in the air. It wiggled and writhed, crackling with energy, and a woman wearing a unitard jumped out and landed on the hood of Wasabi's car.

He slammed the breaks in surprise. She in turn responded quickly, nimbly rolling off the hood and running in the opposite direction of the portal. 

Wasabi took a few moments to breathe. His heart was racing. He looked over to Karmi who looked equally scared. However, her eyes were still fixated on the portal. 

"Look out!" She cried. 

Wasabi saw debris fly past and into the gaping mouth of the portal. It appeared to be shortcuriting, writhing even more erratically than before. Then, to Wasabi's horror, the wind picked up speed, lifted the car up, and hurled them into the portal. 

Their screams were cut short as they entered and then the portal closed, leaving no trace that they had ever been there.


	23. Presents and Portals: Part 2

Hiro, Varian, and Fred stood inside BH6' s headquarters while watching surveillance footage of a recent robbery with Sirque. She threw the metal balls into the air and then jumped through a portal that appeared between them.

"It's an interesting idea," Varian mused as he cupped his chin in thought,"but it doesn't look very practical. You'd eventually run out of those magnets like that." 

"It's also not very stable." Hiro added. "Remember this is based off the Silent Sparrow project, same as your work. Every time Krei's portal tech has been used, it's resulted in either a blow back or someone getting trapped in the void. If Sirque keeps using these portals it's going to cause another implosion, even bigger than the last one." 

Fred picked up one of Hiro's electromagnet gloves and began to play with the magnetic balls. They strung together as if on some invisible string. "So what's your idea?" He asked them. 

"I could use my electromagnetics to stabilize the portal but that requires finding a way to follow her." Hiro replied. 

"I might, could whip up my own portable portal, but I'm having trouble getting the coordinates right on just the stationary one. I doubt she has any directional controls on hers either." Varian said. 

"So no way to track it then, and no way to reliably follow her using our own portals." Hiro hummed in thought. "I guess I could follow after her directly if I added rocket boosters to my suit." 

"What!?" Fred dropped the magnets in shock. "You can't go back in there!" He protested. 

"Why not?" Asked Varian. 

"Look with rocket boosters I could maneuver through the void." Hiro argued. "Not unless you got any better ideas." 

"The void? You mean where Abigail got trapped?" Varian started to understand Fred's protests. 

"I am receiving a call from Gogo." Baymax interrupted. 

"Put her on." Hiro answered. 

Baymax casted a video call to the viewing screen upon the wall. 

"Guys, we have a major problem." Gogo said with deadly seriousness. 

"Wasabi and Karmi's gone missing." Honey Lemon cried over Gogo's shoulder. 

Hiro's stomach dropped. "What do you mean?" 

"We found the destruction of another implosion. We asked around and someone caught the event on their phone." Gogo held up a phone, the screen facing her own phone. The guys could just make out the blurred images of a green car being sucked into a portal. 

They all stood still as fear gripped them. 

"I'm going ahead and building the rocket attachments." Hiro finally said in determination. 

"And I'm going to study these portal magnets to reverse engineer them." Varian added. 

"And I'll… I'll…" Fred faltered as he couldn't think of what to do. 

"You'll keep watch of the viewing screens as you and Baymax scan the city for any odd energy spikes or anomalies." Hiro told him. "Gogo, you and Honey Lemon keep patroling the city and be on the lookout for Sirque. When she shows back up, notify us. She's the only hope we have of saving Wasabi and Karmi right now." 

With their orders known the team dispersed to take care of each of their tasks.

* * *

"We got an energy spike in front of the art museum...wait no...hold on…it's now in front of the bank in downtown." Fred announced. 

"It must be Sirque. She's using the portals again." Hiro replied as he screwed in the last repulser onto his suit. 

Gogo called in.

"Sirque just appeared at the first national bank. She's busy robbing the place, so if you've gotta a plan, now's the time to come on over." 

"We'll be there shortly, but don't engage Sirque until we get there. Only intervene if she starts to leave before we arrive." Hiro ordered. 

"Got it." Honey Lemon confirmed and the two girls ended the call. 

"I wish we had more time to field test this stuff." Varian said irritably as he scooped up the portal magnets and placed them in his coat pocket. 

"I know, me too, but we gotta take this opportunity while we have it,"and with that said Hiro began to put on his new rocket suit.

* * *

Hiro and the rest of the guys joined Gogo and Honey Lemon on top of the roof of the bank. Varian rode on Baymax's back while Hiro took the opportunity to test out his rocket boosters. 

The flight over had been easy enough, after some quick adjustments to the stabilizers, but the landing was a little trickier. Hiro couldn't stop himself from falling flat on his butt after cutting off the replusers. 

"Ooof." 

Fred was seconds behind him and helped to hoist him back up. "You okay?" 

"Yeah." Hiro answered. 

"Well you better be," Gogo chimed in, "cause Sirque just scared off the last of the police. She's about to leave." 

They all peered over the edge to see Sirque throw her customary magnets into the air and then jump through the writhing window that appeared. 

"Okay. Here I go." Hiro steadied himself and with a deep breath, turned the rocket boosters back on. 

"Be careful!" He heard Honey Lemon call after him as he flew down and dove into the portal before it closed.

* * *

The first thing Hiro noticed was not the void, but a shop sign. Sirque's portal had cleaning transported them on a street corner. Where, he didn't know. 

Sirque turned around and gave an annoyed scowl upon seeing him. She threw another hand full of magnets into the air and jumped through yet another portal. 

And so the chase began. Portal after portal, Hiro flew after her. However, each subsequent gateway was less stable than the last. After about the fourth or fifth jump, Hiro finally found himself inside the void that haunted his nightmares. The exit portal rushed up to meet them and Sirque flew through it, barely registering the change. But Hiro kicked back his thrusters to halt his momentum. He desperately looked around. 

Fortunately he spotted Wasabi's car floating nearby. He flew over to it hoping against hope that his friends were alright. 

They were. Wasabi had the forethought to convert his vehicle into its submarine mode once it flew into the void. It was air tight, and while no doubt uncomfortable, he and Karmi remained safe. He waved to Hiro through the windshield and excitedly woke up the sleeping Karmi seated next to him. 

Hiro sighed in relief and thanked the stars that he and Gogo had installed the sub feature months ago. He used his electromagnet whips to latch onto the car and used his rocket boots to pull them towards the exit. 

It was slow going but ever so surely they inched their way along. However, to Hiro's horror he saw the portal shrink and then close.

* * *

Sirque wound up right back where she started from, in front of the bank. She looked back to see if the annoying superhero had followed her yet again, but he made no appearance. 

Confident that she had finally managed to shake her pursuer, she turned around only to be greeted by more armoured vigilantes. 

She rolled her eyes in exasperation. She just couldn't catch a break today. 

"Hold it right there, circus lady!" The one dressed like a lizard yelled. 

She took a defensive stance, but soon all were distracted by the tall armored girl who let out a scream. 

"Noooo! The portal!" She yelled. 

Sirque looked behind her and saw the portal close. She didn't understand what the big deal was about the portal shutting down. It'd be more of a problem if it hadn't done that. 

She shrugged and while they were still fretting over the lost gateway, she attempted to make her escape.

She cartwheeled away and threw some more magnets into the air. Once again, she made herself ready to jump into the portal, but this time something went wrong. 

The swirling blue vortex turned red and the electricity that connected the magnets twisted and writhed. The wind picked up and started to suck things into the portal. Soon she felt her own feet give out from under her and she was lifted off the ground. 

She would have been sucked into the void if not for the yellow suited girl who tackled her and then pulled her out of the way of the gaping maw.

* * *

Hiro saw a second portal open up just to the right of him and he turned and started heading towards that one instead. Only something was wrong. 

Debris was flying through the opening and Hiro felt a strong force of wind push him and the car back. He tried to divert power from the lights of his helmet to give the rocket boosters on his boots more thrust, but it didn't help. 

They were still being pushed back. Hiro had to pull them out of the way of the portal or risk being swept away into the void for good.

* * *

"What'll we do?" asked Honey Lemon frantically. "Can Hiro make it through the other portal?" 

"No," yelled Varian over the howling wind,"that portal is too unstable. It's sucking everything into it. He'd have to fight the current to get out." 

The portal crackled and fizzled and the gang felt the earth tremor underneath them. 

"Okay, that didn't sound good." said Fred. 

"It is the portal." Sirque warned with a heavy French accent. "It's deteriorating. If it does not close soon, the portal will implode. We must leave." 

"Not without Hiro." Gogo said, still holding tight to Sirque so that she couldn't run away. 

"But… but I do not have a way to shut it down!" She protested. 

"You mean you didn't build an off switch!?" Fred yelled incredulously and all Sirque could do was look sheepishly at him. She had been so sure of her skills and her tech that she hadn't anticipated this problem. 

"Fortunately, I did." Proclaimed Varian as he finished fishing out the last of the portal magnets from his coat pocket. He threw them into the air and then pulled out a controller that he'd built for them. He pressed the button on the remote and the magnetic balls began to spin in the air as they linked up with one another. He adjusted a dial and a portal began to open.

At first the portal showed only the other side of the street, at the stoplight just a block away. The gang could see it's mirroring window shimmering off in the distance. Varian turned the dial once more and the scene changed again while the exit portal at the end of the street disappeared. This time the portal showed a cafe, they couldn't tell where exactly, but sunlight streamed through the opening out into night filled street, as the cafe's patrons scattered away in fright of the strange sight. 

Varian readjusted the dial once more and finally the formless colors of the void appeared. And there was Hiro pulling along Wasabi's car. 

"You did it!" Honey Lemon cheered. 

"You used centripetal force to steady the portal." Sirque said, clearly impressed. "What did you use for navigation?" 

Gogo shut her down. "Save the physics questions for another time."

* * *

Hiro glanced back over his shoulder desperately to see if his friends were still alright. Karmi silently met his gaze. Her eyes wide with worry and fear. He gulped as he racked his brain for a plan.

Just then Hiro spotted another portal opening off in the distance. He quickly changed course and started yet again to pull them all out. 

While it remained quite a distance away, the new portal held a steady shape and offered no resistance winds. Hiro couldn't help but give a smile when he looked up ahead and saw Varian on the other side intently looking at a remote control. This was his work, Hiro knew, and he'd never felt so relieved to see the goggle-wearing teen.

* * *

"There he is! I see them!" Fred joyously yelled. 

Baymax ignited his thrusters and dove into the portal to assist. It took a minute, but the robot finally reached them and went behind the car to help push it along faster. Though they still had a ways to go. 

Just then the controller in Varian's hands began to admit smoke. 

"Oh no. This is bad." He warned. 

"What is it?" Gogo worried. 

"The device is overheating. The magnets can't stand the friction much longer. They need to get out of there quicker before the portal breaks." 

Honey Lemon ran up beside him and pushed some buttons on the side of her purse. Out popped two red balls. She smashed them together and when they pulled apart they created a goopy, sticky, stretchy rope like substance. She threw one end to the ground and hurled the other end into the portal. It attached itself to Hiro's waist. She then repeated the process two more times, attaching those ends to the car. Once secured, she grabbed the ropes and started to pull. 

Fred joined her in her efforts. While Varian tried his best to keep the portal going, desperately fiddling with remote. Soon Gogo let go of Sirque to help her friends. 

Sirque paused for a moment. She was free to leave, and that would have been the smartest course of action, but she found herself running over to help the struggling group of heroes anyways. 

Never let it be said that she didn't pay her debts, Sirque thought to herself as she grabbed hold of the rope as well. 

Finally, after much effort, Hiro flew out of the portal followed closely by Baymax who carried the car that held Wasabi and Karmi. 

"They made it!" Varian whooped which then quickly turned into an "ouch" as the controller he held caught fire. He tossed it to the ground and the magnets sparked, slowed, and then fell away as the portal died. 

Baymax and Hiro gently lowered Wasabi's vehicle, which was now out of its submarine mode, onto the ground below. As soon as the wheels touched the pavement, Wasabi jumped out of the car, got on his hands and knees, and kissed the street, just thankful to be out of void and finally on solid ground once more. 

Karmi's reaction was far less dramatic. She stumbled out of the car and simply stood there, reassuring herself that there was ground underneath her feet and that she was indeed back. She looked shaken but otherwise unharmed. 

Hiro couldn't rush to her to comfort her in that moment though, for as soon as he touched ground himself the earth began to tremble violently. 

There was still the other portal to take care of. 

Hiro rushed over to the gaping maw that hung the air. It wiggled and writhed, the electric currents that connected the magnets twisting into erratic shapes. Hiro launched one of his electromagnetic whips to latch onto one of the magnets, then another and another, until all four 'corners' of the portal were secured. He then started to pull with all his might realigning the magnet balls into their proper positions. 

As he did this the portal slowly changed from its angry red to a more calm blue. Yet the wind only picked up more speed and Hiro found himself lifted off of the ground. His friends rushed to him to grab him. Together they formed a human chain holding him in place as he finished fixing the portal. Even Karmi and Srique joined in. 

Finally, with great struggle, Hiro pulled the last of the magnets into place and the portal calmed down once more. The wind died and Hiro found himself falling to the ground in a heap. His friends closest to him following after, suddenly losing their balance without any wind to fight against. 

Sirque took this opportunity to break away from the group and ran towards the portal. She only stopped long enough to give a little wave and yell "Au revoir" before backflipping through the shrinking window. Once through, the portal disappeared and the deactive magnets fell to the ground. 

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, Sirque had gotten away, but everyone was safe and the deadly portals had been dealt with. 

As Hiro picked himself up and dusted himself off he heard Karmi yell his name. 

"Hiro!" She shouted before rushing to him and flinging her arms around his neck. 

Hiro just stood there in shock. She'd just called him by his actual name, not 'Captain Cuite', not 'Big Hero Six', but _Hiro_. 

He pulled away from her embrace and stared at her. She stared back in equal surprise as if suddenly realizing what she'd just done. 

However, before either could say anything to the other, they heard sirens blare as law enforcement and other emergency vehicles began to arrive. 

Everyone scattered. Varian hightailed it back to the car, dragging Wasabi along with him. Gogo and Honey Lemon frantically skated away while Fred bounced his way up the side of a building. Hiro hopped on to Baymax's back and held his hand out to Karmi. She took it and crawled onto the robot's back as well, sitting right behind Hiro.

"Hang on tight." He told her and off they flew before the police could stop them.

* * *

Hiro flew Karmi back to the dorms. His mind was racing. He couldn't wait to land and get some answers from her. Yet he also didn't want to face the inevitable awkwardness that would follow. 

So he took his time, sweeping across the city's rooftops. He couldn't help showing off just a little bit; making sure to take a more scenic route that displayed the beautiful cityscape. Nor could he resist pulling a few trick maneuvers with Baymax. 

He felt a giddy thrill whenever Karmi would gasp in awe or giggled with surprise as he took her past a towering landmark or pulled off an impressive dive. He also couldn't help but notice that every time she did this she would also grip his waist just a little tighter. Which only furthered encouraged his antics. 

Finally the dizzying flight came to an end and Hiro landed them on the grass within walking distance of the dorms. Karmi slid off and made a show of smoothing out the bottom of her skirt, refusing to look at Hiro. 

Hiro also dismounted and steeled himself for what was to come. 

"So how long have you known?" He asked.

Karmi paused in her preening but still didn't look directly at him nor did she give an answer. 

Hiro removed his helmet and continued his prodding, "about me being with Big Hero Six." 

She finally looked at him unable to ignore him now that he had his helmet off, as if he had removed the last vestige of whatever fantasy she'd held in her mind. But still she wouldn't answer, only biting her bottom lip in response. 

Hiro gave a deep sigh. "Did Wasabi tell you?" 

"No." She said and she turned her head away from him, hugging herself with one arm. 

"Then, how?" 

"You told me; remember?" 

Hiro did remember. Karmi had taken his photograph while he had been fighting some supervillain or other. He had agonized over it until confessing to her the truth, but she had only scoffed at him and refused to believe he was the famous superhero. 

"I didn't want to admit it." She continued."I mean, I saw the photo and I know you told me outright, but I was just too embarrassed and angry to accept it. You'd seen my notebook, with my drawings, and...and well….sometimes you're just _the_ most annoying jerk, not superhero like at all." 

She stamped her foot at that, as if it was all his fault for not living up to her imagined expectations. Yet, she couldn't hold on to her anger. She sighed and continued on. 

"But you also saved me from Liv, or Di, or whatever she calls herself. I could still hear you fighting with her. I just couldn't control what I was doing.. When she… when I was… like _that_." 

Karmi grimaced as she remembered how her former employer had turned her into a monster. A freakish science experiment, just to lure Hiro into a trap. 

"Hey, no. You weren't responsible for what she did to you." Hiro placed a comforting hand onto her shoulder and Karmi finally looked him in the eye. 

"I still didn't want to admit it even then, but here you are saving me yet again." She gave him an apologetic smile. "You may be a jerk sometimes but you really come through whenever I need you to." 

With that she gave him another hug. He returned it this time. 

"Hey no problem. What would Capitan Cutie be without _Lab Lady_." He teased into her ear. 

She backed away quickly as her cheeks grew beet red and she covered her face with her hands in embarrassment. She then peeked through her fingers and groaned. "Oh my gosh. You must think me soooo stupid. My fanfiction is total cringe." 

"Ehh..a little cringe," He admitted, "but no, I don't think you're stupid at all. You're a great writer, and for what's it's worth, I enjoyed your essay at least, and the other research papers you've posted." 

"You...you read those? I thought no one saw them. I just threw them up on the student website." 

He nodded, "Yeah, you should try submitting some of them to like a science journal, or something. They're really good." 

Karmi finally lowered her hands from her face and looked at him guiltily. "I promise no more fanfiction. I'll take it all down. I..I didn't mean to … I didn't.. It's not like I actually thought of you, when writing that… well I mean sort of you.. But not _you_ , you." 

Hiro had to smile and shake his head at seeing the normally so self-assured Karmi fumble with her words. He interrupted her ramble by pushing a stray strand of her bangs out of her face and tucking it behind her ear. He then immediately stopped and jerked his hand away as soon as he realized what he was doing. He feigned a cough and awkwardly rubbed the back of his head as she looked back at him in surprise. 

"You don't have to stop writing fanfiction completely, just maybe a different subject." He suggested. "Like, I don't know, something not real life related. I know Honey Lemon will appreciate not being called 'Tall Girl' anymore." He joked. 

Karmi rolled her eyes at that. "Then why does she wear those platform heels all the time?" 

"Who knows." He shrugged and they both broke into snickers. 

Once the laughter subsided Hiro spoke again. "You..you won't tell anybody else, will you? About us being Big Hero Six?" 

"No, of course not!" She scoffed. "What do you think I am? A snitch?" 

"No.. I didn't mean it that way." Hiro tried to protest but Karmi interrupted him.

"Hiro Hamada, you're really the most aggravating person ever. Like I'd tell anybody that I wrote fanfiction about you of all people. You know, for a genius you sure are dense sometimes." 

With that she turned on her heel and started to storm off, leaving Hiro utterly confused as to what had just happened. 

She'd only made it halfway across the yard though, before stopping. She turned around and flashed him a huge grin. 

"I'll see you at school tomorrow." She shouted before sprinting the rest of the way to the dormitories. She paused again once she had reached the front door, smiled, and waved goodbye to a dumbstruck Hiro before leaving for good. 

Hiro stood there for a few moments looking at the place where she had stood. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears and his mind tumbled with confusion. What the heck was that? Did she just flirt with him or did they have another fight? And why was his cheeks feeling flushed again? 

To his embarrassment, Baymax answered that last question for him without any prompting. 

"You are experiencing an increase in heart rate. A scan indicates that this is being caused by a sudden release of hormones, including testosterone…" 

"Yes, Baymax! I know!" He interrupted the robot. "Let's just get home." 

He climbed upon Baymax's back again, but he couldn't help but steal another glance at the door Karmi had entered through and smiled to himself as they took off.

* * *

Hiro finished hooking up Baymax to his charging case and the robot powered down for the night. Hiro stretched and yawned. He'd had a long day and was ready for bed himself. However, before he could crawl under the covers Varian showed up at the door carrying several presents in his arms. 

"You didn't get a chance to open these." He said as he came in. 

"Oh yeah, I forgot." Hiro remembered the implosion from earlier today and how his party had been interrupted. "I guess I could open them now real quick." 

"Well you were in the middle of opening this one first." Varian handed him a half unwrapped gift. 

"It's from Karmi." Hiro sat on the edge of his bed, tore the rest of the package open, and pulled out a phone case. It was solid white but she had drawn the image of Baymax on the front with a black marker. It was kind of cute, he thought. "I'll have to thank her later."

"And this one is from me." Varian announced with a confidante smile as he handed Hiro the next gift. 

Hiro opened it to find a spray bottle full of some sort of light purple goop. 

"What's this?" He asked as he held it up to the light to inspect it. 

"Magnetic spray paint! I invented it myself. It's made of an adhesion of iron, and other pliable ferromagnetic metals that should, once sprayed upon any surface, adhere to the electromagnets in your suit. I call it… Hironite!" 

"Why not just call it metal paint?" 

"Cause Hironite is cooler." 

"Yeah, I'm not ever calling it that." 

Varian placed his hands upon his hips in a huff. "Fine, don't appreciate having a cool new compound named after you." 

Hiro laughed. "Well I'm sure I'll appreciate it more when I'm out in the field actually using it. Thanks, man. This should come in real handy." 

He went back to inspecting the strange substance but was interrupted when Varian spoke back up. 

"Oh, and...there's one more gift." 

Hiro looked at him confused as Varian handed him a small package with an envelope attached that read 'Happy Birthday Hiro' on the front. It was Tadashi's handwriting. 

"I found it a couple of weeks ago when I was moving in. It was hidden in the bottom drawer of the dresser. I held on to it and was just going to put it with your other presents on the table."

Hiro didn't answer him, he was too busy staring at the gift in his hands. Varian went on, apologizing for not giving it to Hiro sooner.

"I didn't know who it was from until you mentioned looking for it earlier today, and by then I didn't know if telling you about it would've helped or not." He sheepishly admitted. "I figured you'd rather open it without everybody else looking on so I kept it and figured I give it to after the party. But then all this happened and.. and well…" 

Varian sighed in frustration, feeling like he had once more intruded upon Hiro's grief and accidently trampled all over Tadashi's memory without meaning too. 

"It's okay." Hiro assured him, but his own voice sounded far away and his eyes never left the package in his hands. 

Varian stood there for a few moments more, swinging his closed hand against his leg unsure what to do. 

"Well, I'll…give you some privacy then." He suddenly said and then turned to leave, but was stopped by the sound of Hiro's voice. 

"I don't know if I should open it." He whispered, eyes still never leaving the gift. 

Varian paused and looked at Hiro questingly. Hiro looked back up at him, finally tearing his gaze away from the present. 

"If I open this, it'll be the last thing I'll ever get from him." Tears filled his eyes. "That'll be it. He won't come back. I'll never see him again, or hear from him, or … or … he's gone I know, but for a while there I could pretend like he was just on a trip or something. Like the presents and video footage he left behind, or the delayed messages that would pop up on my phone or his Twitter account were just gifts he sent from wherever he was." He swallowed hard. "But opening this makes it all real, somehow. I won't be able to just go on ignoring it like I have been."

Varian didn't know what to say to that. He could on some level understand Hiro's grief. He knew what loss felt like, but he'd never had the luxury of pretending as if things were still normal. Not with his father's corpse displayed in the middle of his laboratory constantly reminding him of what was at stake if he failed. Accepting that his dad was gone for good was just not an option to Varian's mind, and so he couldn't imagine what kind of pain Hiro must be going through in this moment. All he knew was that _he_ hated being left alone when grieving; so he stood by patiently, hoping that just being near would be of some help. 

"You open it." Hiro suddenly said and Varian was taken aback. 

"What? I can't do that. It's meant for you" 

"I can't do it on my own." He pleaded. "But I also can't leave it lying around unopened. It'd drive me nuts." 

He held the gift up for Varian to take it. "Please, just unwrap it for me?" 

Varian sighed in defeat. "Okay, but you gotta be the one to read the card." 

Hiro nodded his agreement and Varian took the present from him. He unwrapped it and the lid to the box fell away. Varian peered inside confused. 

"Well, what is it?" Hiro asked with baited breath. 

"Well, it'll go real well with the gift I got you." Varian stifled a snicker and held the box up for Hiro to see. "It's a magnet." 

It was a simple hand made device made from a large battery and a long iron nail. There was copper wire wrapped around each and attached to a simple switch made of plywood and a misshapen paperclip. 

Hiro looked at it in surprise before bursting into both laughter and tears. 

"That sentimental dork." He laughed through his sobs."That's the first magnet I ever made. Tadashi showed me how to build it when I was like, five. He probably meant it as a joke gift." 

He broke down into more giggles and even Varian could help but chuckle. 

"Sounds like a funny guy." He quietly said.

Hiro wiped his eyes as he tried to gain his composure. "Oh boy, he'd be so smug right about now. I wasn't expecting that. He got me good." He laughed again and went to open the envelope. 

He pulled out a birthday day card and started to read it out loud. 

"Dear Hiro, happy 15th birthday. I'm so glad that you decided to make something of yourself and to further your education. So assuming you don't do anything stupid and land your butt in jail again between now and me writing this, you should undoubtedly be finishing your first year in college. Never mind, we both know you'll do something stupid anyways, but hopefully is won't mess with your grades. You're super smart. The smartest guy I know, and I'm sure you'll make it into the program. So to commemorate the occasion I dug up your very first invention from the attic. That way you can look back and see how far you've come. I'm proud of you. From your best brother ever, Tadashi. P.S. There's probably a real gift for you as well. I just don't know what yet, as I haven't bought it. Just nag future me for it instead of getting mad, okay?"

Hiro gave one more breathless laugh which quickly turned into a sob. Oh how he missed Tadashi's stupid irritating face and dumb jokes. But mostly he wished his brother could really see him now, see how well he was doing, see how much he had accomplished, see how he had done something truly worthwhile with his life. 

He cupped his hand over his mouth as he stared out into the distance while silent tears rolled down his face. 

Finally he inhaled deeply and slowly exhaled as he tried to let go; let go of the tension in his body, let go of the pain, let go of the distant fading hope that one day Tadashi would suddenly appear as if he had never left. He sniffled and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. Then he turned to look back at Varian who just stood there with worry in his eyes. 

Hiro couldn't help but chuckle dismissively. "It's okay. I'm okay. You don't have to look at me like that." 

Varian straightened as if caught doing something wrong. "Well if you don't need me for anything else, I guess I'll go on to bed. I got a test in the morning." 

He laid the gift on the bed next to Hiro and started to leave once more. Hiro chased after him. 

"Hey, thanks." He said. Varian paused and turned to look at him. "Thank you for finding Tadashi's gift and thank you for helping me open it. And just...thank you for just being there. I know people mean well, but so often they just stumble over themselves trying to be comforting and it just makes you feel uncomfortable sometimes, you know. Like you feel guilty for being sad and making other people upset. But you never do that. You're just... well you're just _there_ you know, and I'm really glad you came to stay with us." 

Varian blinked in surprise. He didn't know how to respond to that. He had always thought that Hiro was annoyed with him for living with them. He sniffled back his own tears and gave Hiro a small smile.

"Well, I'm..glad I could help." 

Hiro returned the smile, also unsure how to carry on the conversation. 

"Well, good night and good luck with your test in the morning." He nervously said, now feeling self conscious about his recent confession. 

"Night." Varian relplied and turned around once more, but stopped at the top of the stairs, "Oh, and happy birthday, Captain Cuite." He smuggly called afterwards before dashing down the stairs as Hiro half heartedly threw a pillow at him.

* * *

Sirque stood nervously inside a well furnished room. The large office space was decorated in expensive decor from around the world. Ancient artifacts and historic weaponry lined the walls and display shelves. From the vaulted ceiling hung decorative tapestries and the desk at the front was placed upon a raised dais. So that it’s occupant could better look down upon its visitors. 

“As you can see, the tests were not fully successful, but I’ve learned a great deal from the experiment and was able to procure some interesting stuff for your collection, no?” She smiled hopefully as she placed an ornate dagger on the desk that she had stolen from the museum. Her employer was known to enact harsh punishment for failure, but Sirque hoped that the offering would appeal to the crime lord’s expensive tastes and buy her some lenacy. 

The figure behind the desk was shrouded in shadow, save for a withered and gnarled hand that impatiently drumed its fingers upon the desk. 

Sirque gulped. Flanked behind her were two muscled guards who stood at attention next to the door, blocking her escape. They were smartly dressed in business suits and wore sunglasses to help hide their eyes. They looked unarmed, but Sirque knew better. She might, could out maneuver them, but not a bullet. 

“So my dear patron, if you could afford me a little more time and resources I’m sure I could have a working portal for you as per your request.” She shifted her weight from foot to foot and gave a small nervous laugh when her boss failed to give an answer. “Hee, you wouldn’t want to miss out on the opportunity of being the owner of the world's first working portal would you?” 

The ageded hand paused in its drumming and then gestured for one of its guards to come forward. Sirque stiffened with fear. The muscled bound goon loomed over her and she backed away quickly. He reached into his jacket and Sirque closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable. But it never came. Instead of a weapon the bodyguard pulled out a stack of money and roughly shoved it into her chest which she adjusted quickly to catch from falling. 

“My master would like for you to continue with your experiments, and so long as you’re able to fulfil your lofty promises there will be more payment forthcoming.” 

Sirque looked down at the pile of cash cradled in her hands in surprised delight. 

“Why, yes, but of course!” She gained composure long enough to give a respectful bow towards the podium and it’s resident.”Merci, patron. I shall not disappoint.” 

Smiling to herself, she counted the dollar bills as she left. Yes, her tech hadn’t worked as well as she had hoped, but it _had_ worked; and her run in with Big Hero Six had only given her some even better ideas. The next time she met with those meddlesome heroes, she’ll be able to show them up instead. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We finally get to see the mysterious shadow figure, well sort of.


	24. The Desert

Varian doubled checked the coordinates on the computer. 

He was in his lab fiddling with the portal. His run in with Sirque the other day had given him a few new ideas that he was eager to try out. He had built a turbine inside the portal to mimic the centripetal force he had used to steady the villain's smaller portal magnets, in the hopes of being able to better navigate the larger portal same has he had done with those. 

Confident he had put in the correct algorithm into the system, he walked over the dashboard, took a deep breath, and flipped the switch. 

He watched with trepidation as the portal turned on. He still remembered the flooding he had cause last time he had tried this. However, he was now better prepared for an emergency. 

The new laboratory that Professor Granville had granted him had a separate office space with a plexiglass window that looked out onto the room that held the gateway he'd built. It ran from floor to ceiling and from wall to wall. There were holes at the bottom to run wires and pipes through in order to connect the controls to the device along with a glass door that allowed easy access between the two rooms. 

The portal crackled with energy and Varian heard the hum of the giant turbine he had installed. Soon the glowing gateway opened up and he could see the flat sandy plains of a desert. 

Corona had no deserts, but that didn't necessarily mean that it wasn't his world. Varian glanced back at the view screen and committed to memory the readout. He then cautiously opened the door that connected the two sides of the lab and walked up to the portal trying to decide what to do. 

He tentatively stuck his hand through to test the gateway. It was like sticking his hand inside a hot oven. He quickly drew it back and peered out at the endless expanse of sky and sand as shimmering heat waves rose off the surface. 

He worked his jaw in thought. It clearly wasn't his home country but if it was his world then he could still get back home using other means, and if nothing else it would be progress. Yet he could just shut everything down and try again and see if he got any closer.

He peered back over his shoulder towards the controls as he tried to decide what to do. 

Well it wouldn't hurt just to check, would it? Take a quick look around, determine which world he was in, and then come back. He wouldn't have to go far, surely. 

He steeled his courage and stepped through the portal's window and out into the hot sun. 

The heat was suffocating. He walked forward a bit but saw nothing ahead. He turned around and was met the sight of the portal hanging in the air, like a window into another world. He could see his lab clearly suspended in the sky a few inches above the ground, yet just a few steps to the right and there was suddenly nothing on the other side. It was just a thin blue glowing circle. 

But what really caught his eye was the road that wound past off in the distance. To his dismay it was paved in concrete and a green metal road sign that said "Welcome to Death Valley" stood near it. 

He wasn't home at all. He was still in this new modern world. 

He started to make his way back towards the portal. However once he was a few steps away he heard a sparking noise as the turbine short circuited and then the whole thing shut down and the portal disappeared into thin air, leaving him stranded in the desert.

* * *

Wasabi went about tidying up his little corner of the lab. He straightened up his tool box as he hummed a cheery tune. He was just about to burst into full song when his phone rang. 

"Hello." He sang. "Oh hi, Varian. Whacha up to buddy?" 

The grin from his face fell away as he listened to the other end of the line. 

"You're _WHERE_!?

* * *

Varian tried to lick his dry lips as he stood in the heat. It didn’t help. 

He had called Wasabi to pick him up and his friend told him to stay put until he arrived. His GPS told him that the nearest sign of civilization was over a twenty mile walk away and Wasabi warned not to make such a trek without being properly prepared. 

"You could get a heat stroke. Just try to stay cool as best you can. I'm on my way now. Also call if you start to feel sick." 

Varian felt uncomfortable more than anything. The heat was blistering and the dry air scratched at his throat. Worse, there was nothing to distract from his discomfort. He played on his phone for a bit, but he didn't want to run the battery down in case Wasabi tried to call. 

He stood under the sign next to the road and watched a tumbleweed roll past. He barely felt the wind nor the small shadow that the sign cast. He held his shirt higher above his head, trying to use it as a makeshift shade from the sun. 

He could barely focus on the equations he ran through his head to past the time as the hours slowly slipped by. He had eventually given up trying to write them in the sand and now just stared out into space. 

Finally, after an agonisingly long time, he saw Wasabi's familiar green car coming towards him. It was the first vehicle he'd seen all day. 

Wasabi pulled to a stop in front of him and rolled down his window. 

"You owe me gas money." He angrily said. 

Varian knew he was just hiding his worry with irritation so he didn't respond. 

"You got any water." He croaked instead. 

Wasabi rolled his eyes and motioned for him to get in the car. 

Varian ran around to the other side and hopped in. He gave a sigh of relief as the cold air from the air conditioner hit him in the face. He then spotted the case of bottled water at his feet. He tore it open and pulled one out as Wasabi turned the car around and started the long drive back. 

He nearly chugged the entire thing in one gulp. He'd never felt anything so wonderful as the cold water soothed his parched throat and he thought he could never get enough of it. 

"Don't make yourself sick now." Wasabi warned. "Take it slow. I also bought some aloe vera in case you're sunburnt." 

Varian ignored him and and opened another bottle. After downing about half of this one, he sloshed some water on his hands and patted the back of his neck. He then proceeded to repeat the process, splashing the water over his face and arms. He then poured the last of it on top of his head and let it drip through his hair. 

Wasabi raised an eyebrow in annoyance as Varian made a mess on his leather seats. At least it was only water, well, that and sand from his dusty clothes, but it was still infuriating how Varian avoided acknowledging his latest disaster. 

Varian opened a third water bottle and kicked his feet up on the dashboard. He sipped this one more slowly as he readjusted the vents to blow cool air directly on his face. 

"Do you mind?" Came Wasabi's irritated voice. 

Varian slowly pulled his feet off the dashboard, but instead of sitting upright he slouched further down and placed one knee against the glove compartment instead. His feet and legs ache from standing in one spot for so long. 

Wasabi huffed. "I hope you also plan on cleaning the sand out of my car." 

Once again Varian didn't respond. He tried to change the subject instead. 

"I think I may need to build a return switch on the portal." 

"You think?" Wasabi echoed before launching into a rant. "And what did you think before stepping through that portal? Hun? Oh the desert, how pretty, let me go pick a cactus to give my friend Wasabi so that I can ruin his day even further. I hope you know, I had to backpedal out attending that meeting for that group project I'm in, just to rescue your butt. That's twenty-five percent of my grade. Also Sam was annoyed with me when I had to make up an excuse. I could tell." 

"That's that guy that you like, right? The one you got a crush on."

Wasabi was caught off guard as the conversation rounded back to him and his secret infatuation with his classmate. 

"Don't...don't try to change the subject." He flustered. 

Varian only laughed. "You should ask him out. Offer to take him to lunch or something as a way of making up for skipping out on the assignment." He encouraged. 

"I...I can't do that." 

"Why not? You like him don't you? And if you like him, he's probably a cool dude. You might wanna make your move before someone else snatches him up." He warned. 

"By who?" Wasabi asked, exasperated. How did they get on this subject again?

"I don't know." He shrugged. "Hey, maybe I'll ask him out? Sweep him off his feet." Varian teased. 

Wasabi let out a sarcastic laugh. "Ok, first off, at twenty-one, he's too old for you, and secondly, I doubt that you're his type. He's responsible, dependable, values reliability; He even keeps a mini planner book in his shirt pocket all the time. Which is so cool...” 

Wasabi paused in mid-gush when noticed Varian’s smirk. Wasabi returned it with his own annoyed pout before continuing. 

“Not everyone is into this impulsive ‘bad boy’ thing you got going on." 

Varian placed a hand over his heart and gave mock show of being offended. "Oooo, you wound me." 

"I'm serious. You need to straighten up your act man. You can't keep doing things like this without thinking." 

Varian took another swig of water, trying to hide how deep those words really cut.

"Okay, well, if we're playing the honesty game here," he retorted," then you need to stop being afraid and go after the stuff you want. Sam's not just going to come to you with a 'hey, let's be more than friends' unless you let him know that you like him." 

Wasabi sighed. "But what if he doesn't like me back? We still got till mid-terms to finish our project. If I confess to him now and he turns me down, than things are just going to be weird between us. I don't want to spend two whole weeks or more just feeling awkward around him while we try to get things done.” 

Varian looked thoughtful at that “Well, I mean, you’re never going to find out how he does feel unless you ask him. But if he can’t see how great a guy you are then that’s his loss.” 

Wasabi couldn’t hide the appective smile that crept onto his face, though he certainly tried to. He wasn’t ready yet to forgive Varian for this latest mishap. 

“Well, maybe I’ll ask him out to coffee or something once the projects done. If we manage to make back through rush hour traffic in one piece that is.” 

Varian looked at him despairingly. “How long are you going to stay mad at me?” 

Wasabi pursed his lips in thought. “Hmmm...at least till Fresno.”

* * *

They made it back home late at night, near early morning. It took twice as long to get back to the dorms as it did for Wasabi to get to the desert in the first place. 

When he had heard Varian was trapped in Death Valley, he had rushed to the rescue, speeding as fast as he dared, pulling dodgy maneuvers in traffic that would have made even Gogo think twice. However, once Varian was safe, Wasabi went back to the cautious driving that he was more comfortable with. 

They took their time and eventually Wasabi did relent his anger and he and Varian had fun on the drive back, singing show tunes, chatting, and over all enjoying each other's company. Varian even got a chance to practice driving, as Aunt Cass had taken him to get his learner's permit last week. 

Speaking of whom, Varian had texted her and told her he'd be spending the night with Wasabi. 

They trudged back up the stairs of the dormitories to Wasabi's apartment. Varian would have collapsed on the couch right then and there had Wasabi let him. But he was still covered in sand, so a quick shower had to be have first. Once out and changed into some more ill fitting clothes that Wasabi lent him, he finally went to sleep nearly passing out as soon as his head hit the pillow.


	25. Momakase

The rain poured down in slick torrents making the alleyway slippery. It was hard to hold one's footing on the wet pavement as the combatants whirled around each other in a dangerous dance of death. 

Momakase didn't care. She was trained to fight in all kinds of weather and her opponents were clearly outmatched. They were little more than street thugs; gang members who took a fool's job in the hopes of earning some spare cash. They clearly didn't sign up to fight a skilled ninja like her. She almost felt sorry for them. 

Almost. 

She kneed one attacker in the stomach and down he went like all the rest. There was none left standing save for one. One was all she needed. 

He took aim with his gun and she knocked it out of hand with a well placed knife throw. As he clutched his hand in pain she stalked up to him and pulled him up off the ground by his collar. 

"Who is this 'bosu'?" She ordered. 

"You..you mean the big boss? I don't know...I don't know anything. I just take the money, lady. I don't ask questions." came his terrified response. 

Momakase rolled her eyes. "Then allow me to jog your memory." She sneered as she slammed his head on to the top of the dumpster next to them. 

"Pease! No! Really I..I don't know anything! We get paid through Yama. He's the only one who has seen this new crime lord that's running things now. No one knows who he is, or what he looks like, just that he pays well." 

Momakase paused in her questioning. She was normally a good judge character and able to tell when people lied to her. This poor schmo really didn't know anything, but the Yama tip could prove useful. 

"Thank you for your corporation." She politely told him before throwing him into garbage where he belonged.

* * *

“I have concerns.” Baymax said, as both he and Hiro starred disquietly at the scene before them. 

They were inside the garage looking upon Varian as he held up jazz hands while sporting a ridiculously wide grin and proudly displayed his latest endeavor to them. 

Behind him was a large stockpile of fireworks, arranged into a ramshackled pyramid that was taller than both of the boys. Ruggdier stood at the bottom of the pyramid on his hind legs holding up lighted sparklers in each of his paws. The pet was wearing a tricorn hat with a US flag tucked in it’s band. 

“Where...did you get all of the fireworks?” Hiro asked in trepidation. 

“I made them!” Varian crowed and his smile became even wider. 

“You _made_ a bunch of explosives in our home?” Hiro squeaked in shock. Then next came the raged filled question of, “ _Why?_!”

“Because Indepence Day is coming up!” Varian cheered, completely ignoring the other boy’s anger and terror. “Every Fourth of July, your country celebrates traitors to the crown with explosions and food!” Varian clasped his hands and gave a far off wistful look. “Best. Holiday. Ever.” He whispered with joy. 

Just then, their conversation was interrupted by a text from Fred. 

Hiro frowned at his phone in worry. 

"What is it?" Varian asked. 

"An old villain broke out of prison this week. We've been trying to track her down, but no such luck. She's figured out how to block Baymax's bio-tracking." 

"Well what does she want?" 

Hiro shrugged. "Who knows. Last time, she agreed to work with someone named Di in order to seek revenge on us, but so far she hasn't made any attacks or pulled any theft jobs. She goes by the name Momakase."

"Momakase is a world renowned thief, ninja, and professional chef." Baymax announced, pulling up the villain's file on his viewer screen. "She is an expert in swords, knives, and sushi techniques. Her signature weapon; two dual blades made of graphene." 

"Yeah, graphene is a hundred times stronger than even steel." Hiro confirmed. "With them she can slice through nearly anything. She's one of the more deadly opponents we've faced." 

"Anything, hun?" Varian asked, raising one eyebrow as if hitting upon an idea. He mulled over this revelation but instead of elaborating he only shrugged and nonchalantly said, "Well, seems like a waste of a career if you ask me. Why risk jail when you can just make a ton of money being a famous sushi chef? I've seen all those cooking shows. They make tons of cash." 

"You've been watching the Food Network again haven't you?" Hiro teased. 

"Hey, you're the one who told me I needed to learn new recipes. Oh, which reminds me, I got an apple turnover in the oven. Come on, Ruddiger." And with that he and his pet turned to leave. 

"What's the difference between that and a pie?" Hiro called after him. 

"The crust." He yelled back as he walked back into the house. 

Hiro good naturedly shook his head as he watched the other teen leave. Things had settled down these past few weeks and it no longer felt out place having Varian around, but that didn't stop the occasional odd conversation where the time-displaced boy tried to pull off some grand scheme without telling anyone first. Aunt Cass was going to flip when found out about the fireworks. 

"I thought he'd never leave." Came a sultry voice. 

Hiro whirled around in surprise. There stood Momakase, graphene blade in hand, next to a deactivated Baymax. She held up Baymax's chip and gave a wicked smile. Hiro stumbled back in alarm. 

"You..how did you…" 

"I worked for Obake remember." She stalked forward, slamming the garage door shut behind her, trapping Hiro in. "Oh, don't worry your secret identity is safe with me, and so is your precious aunt, so long as you corporate." She pointed the long knife right at his throat.

“What do you want?” his voice dripped with suspicion.

She pulled an envelope out the folds of her combat suit and tossed it onto Hiro’s desk. The contents of the envelope spilled out revealing a typed letter and slips of hundred dollar bills. 

Never fully taking his eyes off the villain, Hiro pulled out the letter to read it. 

Get Out of Town; was all it read. 

“It might be kinda hard to convinced my Aunt that we need to move.” 

Momakase just rolled her eyes at that. 

“That letter was given to me three days ago, along with the money. Found it in my old hideout.” She waited for this new information to sink in before continuing. “There’s a new crime lord running things now that Obake and Di are out of the picture. No one knows who they are or what they want, but it would seem that they don’t want me around. No one makes a fool of me.” Her voice dropped to a growl with that last line and she inched her knife forward. Hiro backed away into the desk and screwed his eyes shut, but no attack came. He opened them again in trepidation and, like a bad nightmare that he couldn’t wake up from, there still stood the darkly clad ninja with her shimmering blade. 

“After conducting my own investigation, I found that Yama is this ‘bosu’s’ contact with the underworld.” She continued.”He employs the underlings and base thugs of the operation. He may have the answers we need.” 

“We?” 

“His base is covered in hidden infrared cameras, they can’t be disabled by a simple EMP, and if the alarm is triggered the whole building goes on lockdown. The security doors are reinforced by titanium, even my blades can’t cut through that. What I need is a technical genius to find a workaround.” She smile and leered in closer, tipping Hiro’s chin up with the blade of her knife. 

Hiro gulped. 

"Hey, Hiro you wanna try some of…" Varian opened the door that connected the garage to the house. He stopped mid- sentence when he saw the scene before him, pan and turnover in hand. 

Momakase and Hiro both froze. Hiro tensing in fear, afraid what Momakase may do to his friend, and Momakase tightening her grip on her knife, waiting to see what the newcomer would do. 

Varian's surprise turned into a snarl. He hurled the baking pan towards the villain but she deflected it easily. Slicing through the oncoming metal, as if it was butter. What was harder to deflect was the kid himself. Using the projectile as a distraction, Varian flung himself at Momakase. The force and weight of his body knocking them both to the ground as they wrestled for control of the knife. 

To say Momakase was caught off guard would be an understatement. She had assumed that the boy was just another one of Hiro's nerdy friends, but unlike the heroes she'd fought before, this teen had a complete disregard for both caution and common sense. 

His blue eyes met her own as they rolled along the floor with an anger and ferocity that only came to those familiar with fighting. This was a kid who'd been through something, she thought vaguely in the back of her mind. Like all of the kids who grew up on the rough side of the streets, such as herself, this was a child who knew what it was like to fight to survive. Shame he wasn't any good at it. 

A well placed knee to the stomach relinquished his grip on her. Another kick pushed him off of her and sent him sprawling next to the wall. She stood up and raised her knife to attack but her hand was stopped by an unseen force. She turned to see Hiro with one of his armored gloves on, using his electromagnetic to try and yang the blade from her hand. 

"Clever." She smiled, and then whipped out the second knife from its sheath using her other hand and threw it across the room towards where the other boy lay. 

"Varian!" Hiro screamed and rushed towards his friend, letting Momakase go. 

"Relax, all I did was pin his shirt to the wall." She soothed. Which was true. The other teen sat on the floor, trying to pry the knife out of both the wall and the sleeve of his shirt, to no avail. 

She came up behind Hiro as he was distracted and pinned his arms behind him, placing her second knife back at his throat.

"Now, where we, before being so rudely interrupted?"

* * *

Varian struggled against the ropes that bound his hands. To make sure that he did not warn the authorities, Aunt Cass, nor the rest of Big Hero Six, Momakase had Varian tied to a chair, gagged, and left alone inside the garage. 

"Don't worry. Your friend will no doubt come and free you once we've concluded our business." The woman had claimed with a smug smile. 

Hiro looked silently on with worry, now having been disarmed and left with little means to guarantee Varian's safety should he try to fight back. 

Varian could only glare at the stranger with hate in his eyes. How dare she threaten someone he care about! She didn't know who she was dealing with. Had he not been caught off guard like that, then why he...he… He huffed in frustration but then dropped his shoulders in defeat and hung his head. He had failed. Failed to protect his friend, and now there was no telling what danger Hiro was in. 

He had overheard the two of them planning on breaking into Yama's, but he had no clue as to why, how, or even where the mob boss's place might be. 

Varian cast his eyes desperately about the garage once again. A good hour or more had past and no one had heard his muffled cries for help. Aunt Cass was no doubt too busy running the cafe to be aware that either boy was missing yet. 

His gaze landed on the deactivated Baymax who stood there unresponsive. He saw on the desk near by the chip that would reactive the robot. If he could just get to it…

He began to scoot the chair closer to the desk, painstakingly making his way towards the chip with each little hop. He angled the chair so that the back of it, along with his hands, were facing the corner where the piece of software laid. He fiddled with his hands trying to grab hold of the edge with his back turned. He felt the little hard piece of plastic brush his fingertips. He managed to nab hold of the device between his index and middle fingers and slowly pulled it off the table; only for it to slip out of his hands and clatter to the ground. 

Well, so much for that idea. 

Varian was beginning to panic. He was trapped and now completely out of ideas. Sure someone had to come along at some point to free him, but by then it may be too late for Hiro. Plus being restrained inside a small dark room didn't conjure up the best of memories for him either. 

He breathed deeply through his nose trying to calm his nerves. If anything happened to his friend he'd make that Momakase pay. He swore it. 

Just then he heard the familiar sound of Ruddiger chittering a ways off. He turned his head and saw the raccoon poke its head around the door. The faithful creature had come looking for him. 

"Rrrrummiger!" He tried to yell in relief. 

His pet took one look at him and knew what to do. The raccoon came scurrying over and began to gnaw through the ropes. 

After a few minutes Varian hands broke free and tore the gag from his face. 

"Great work buddy." He bent down and pick up the chip while Ruddiger hopped on his shoulders with practiced ease. He then stood up and made his way over to the silent robot. "Now we gotta get the others and find Hiro."

* * *

"Okay, this cloaking material I used for Fred's chameleon suit should get us past the security. Fortunately I had some left over from the tester suit I had built first" Hiro said as he pulled out the miro-electronic clothes. 

He and Momakase stood outside on the neighboring rooftop across from Yama's office building. 

"And you're sure this will work?" She asked as she slipped on the fabric over her regular clothes. 

"It better. I don't wanna be caught in there any more that you do." He said putting on his own cloaking suit. 

"Just remember, if you double cross me," she warned, "then all of your secret identities will be made public." 

Momakase pointed her blade towards him menacingly before slipping the final head piece on and disappearing from sight. 

"Yeah, I know." Hiro groaned and slipped his own head piece on. Instantly the world around him changed as his infrared goggles translated his surroundings into colored blobs. He saw a red blob shaped like Momakase run and jump off the building and land on the window still of the opposite office tower. Hiro took a deep breath and followed after.

* * *

They made their way through the villain's lair with ease; sneaking past guards and knocking out those that they couldn't. Right now both Hiro and Momakase were crawling through the upper vents as they made their way up to the top of the tower and Yama's private quarters. 

"So who's the new kid? He's not another team member is he?"

Momakase's sudden question caught Hiro off guard. The villain wasn't known for being chatty and this was hardly the time or place for a conversation. 

"Uhh…my aunt is foster parenting him." 

"Ah, so he's your new step brother then? That's why he so foolishly rushed in to protect you. How sweet." 

Hiro didn't like the mocking tone in her voice, nor the comparison that he and Varian were brothers now. 

"We just consider each other friends, and if you had any, then you'd know that's what friends do for each other. They look out for one another." 

"You're such a sap." 

He could practically hear Momakase rolling her eyes. 

They came to a juncture above them that led to the next level. Hiro crawled up first and held a hand out to pull Momakase up. She didn't take it. 

"In this world you can only rely on yourself." She said as she finished her climb. 

"You're wrong." 

"Am I?" Momakase mused. "Your 'friend' doesn't seem to think so." 

"What do you mean?" Hiro's heart dropped. What was Momakase up to now? 

"I've been around," She said as she squirmed past Hiro and took the lead."I know a survivor when I see one. This, what did you call him, Varitas?" 

"Varian."

"Oh yes, well this Varian of yours has been through quite a bit, hasn't he? He even knew how to wiggle out of his bonds. I had to double tighten the ropes." 

Hiro glared at her, not that she could see. 

"Yeah, well he...he's been through a lot. What does it matter? He's with us now and he's getting better." 

"People like that don't change. Believe me, once you've been forced to survive on your own you don't go back to trusting easily, and you never forget how to keep fighting." 

"And how would you know?" Came Hiro's irritated reply. 

"Because, I've never stopped." She whispered. 

Hiro's anger turned to concern. What had she been through? How was she able to guess such things about Varian without knowing anything about him hardly? 

Momakase stopped suddenly as they heard voices coming from underneath them.

"Ssshhhh!" She placed a hand to her lips to tell him to listen and keep quiet. 

"That circus chick said she's made another breakthrough, and I got Sparkles doing reconnaissance." They saw through the vent grating Yama talking on his cell phone. "I wouldn't trust that little punk if I was you… No, of course not boss….I didn't mean to sound like I was giving orders. I was just giving advice that's all….Yes, boss... No, boss….We got plans for expansion as we speak, just in case our resident egghead don't deliver… I gotcha...No we haven't seen Momakase since she took out our men yesterday… Hey, maybe she figured out what was good for her and left…Yeah, okay, I'll tighten security and widen the search. Not sure why you're bothered though. Not like she has anything to do with portals." The overweight mob-boss gave a loud barking laugh as he entered the elevator. 

"Portals?" Momakase whispered in confusion. 

She motioned Hiro to follow her and they dropped down into the hallway below. They then made their way through the door Yama had first walked out of and walked into an office room. 

"You search the desk and I'll take the bookcase." She ordered in a hush voice. "There's usually a safe hidden behind one of those." 

Hiro glanced over the mess on top of Yama's desk. It was hard to find anything through the mounds of unorganized papers. 

"This guy needs to hire a secretary...ah ha! I found something!" 

Hiro pulled out a checkbook. He read the names on the yellow receipts. 

"He's been paying both Sirque and Mr. Sparkles, along with his usual goons."

"Yes, but with who's money?" Momakase walked over to join him, reading an accounting file. "According to his bookkeeping, he's being paid through numerous different companies. Most likely dummy operations by the look of things." 

"What does this 'bosu' want with portals?" Hiro asked, never taking his eyes off her. 

"No idea, enlighten me." She placed the file on the desk and lead forward resting her fists upon the top. 

"We fought Sirque last week. She had built a bunch of unstable portals using tech she stole from Krei. Also the last time we took on Mr. Sparkles, was the night we met Varian, he had stolen a prototype portal from Krei as well. And just now Yama mentioned you and portals in the same sentence." 

"And you think I have something to do with all this?" She interrupted."Hardly, this my first time hearing about any portals. I'm just as much in the dark as you are. If not more so." She tilted her head. "What does your 'friend' have to do with all this?" 

Hiro stiffened. Blast it! He did have to open his mouth about Varian didn't he. 

"Nothing." 

Even through his infrared goggles he could tell Momakase wasn't buying it. 

"He...he came through the portal. He's from another world and he's just trying to get back to his dad." 

"Now there's an interesting piece to the puzzle." 

"He's not involved here."

"Yet. He's not involved, yet. How long before this bosu approaches him? Offers to help fund his way back home, hun?" 

"Varian wouldn't do that." 

She crossed her arms in disbelief. "So you say."

Hiro rounded on her.

"You know what!? Just because you can't see the good in people doesn't mean that everybody just like you!" 

He stopped in mid-rant when they heard the alarms sound. 

"Drat!" Yelled Momakase. She pulled off her headpiece to get a better look at the security screen behind the desks. "Looks like your friends are trying to break in." She said in irritation. 

Hiro pulled his own hood off and saw Fred dodging laser blasts. The viewing screen showed him hopping around right outside the front of the building. 

"Oh no."

* * *

"Now what!?" Momakase irritability asked as she and Hiro ran down the corridor. "That buffoon in a monster suit just tripped all of the alarms! All our escape exits are now cut off!"

Hiro slowed to a stop when he noticed the vent they had crawled out of earlier.

"Not all." Momakase stalled and turn around around to look at him. Hiro pointed upwards. "They wouldn't close off the vents. Fred's out there creating a diversion. That means the rest of the gang must be waiting for us up on the roof." 

"Are you sure?" She asked skeptically. 

"Only one way to find out." He said as he hoisted himself back up through the vent. Once inside, he then turned around to look down at her. "Unless you just wanna wander around aimlessly and risk getting caught." 

Momakase heard angry shouts coming down the hallway and seemed to make up her mind. She too hoisted herself back up into the vent and closed the grate. 

"Lead the way." She said.

* * *

Hiro's arms and legs ached. He was in the middle of shimming up a vertical shaft. Momakase had her blades to help with the upward climb through the vent, but Hiro had to rely on his own parkour skills, which admittedly weren't the best. 

He could just about see the light up ahead of where the shaft lead out on to the open roof. Though there still would be the problem of removing the fan once there. 

Fortunately, not so much a problem as he originally feared, as he heard the squeal of metal as the fan and grate was ripped from its hinges and tossed aside. Soon Varian poked his head over the side and peered down at them. 

"I found them! Baymax was right!" He yelled. 

Soon Honey Lemon stuck her head around the bend next to his. 

"Oh thank goodness!" She breathed. 

Their relief soon turned to worry as they heard shouts and the sound of metal being loudly jostled.

"Better hurry up. Looks like Yama has figured out where we are." Momakase said.

Honey Lemon tossed a rope down made of some stretchy goop and Hiro grabbed hold. He offered his hand down to Momakase once more and once again she turned it down. 

"I got it. Thanks." She grunted as she stabbed the side of the vent again and pushed herself up a little further. 

He was hoisted up just as the guards made their way to the bottom of the shaft. 

His friends pulled him out of the vent and onto the roof. Honey Lemon caught him in a tight hug and Baymax started in on performing his customary scans to see if he was alright. 

"There's no time for that." Hiro exclaimed. "We gotta get Momakase out of there before Yama's guards catch her." 

He turned around to do just that but Honey Lemon stopped him. "Uh-unh. We're getting you out of here first." 

"But.." 

"I'll pull her out while you and Baymax get Hiro over to the next rooftop" Varian announced "Just be back soon, okay." 

"Are you sure?" Honey Lemon asked with worry. 

"Yeah, all of us won't fit on Baymax's back at one time anyways." And with that Varian took off back towards the vent while Honey Lemon shuffled Hiro away. 

"We got him." She said into her radio to the others. "Start meeting at that rendezvous place." 

* * *

Momakase dodged another laser blast as she made her precarious climb. Her armor had shorted out from a stray blast and she had disregarded the hood. She was now visible to the goons below. Sweat dripped from her brow as she stabbed the side of the vent again and pushed herself up just a little further. 

She fully suspected that Hiro and the other supers had flown off. Not that she could blame them. So imagine her surprise when she saw the blue eyed teen that she fought earlier lean his head back down the shaft once more. 

Varian, that was his name. He gave her a hard look, his eyes still full of rage. He looked to be debating something with himself. He ducked to dodge a blast and Momakase rolled her eyes. What was he trying to prove? She was close to the top anyways. 

She made to stab the vent again, but her foot slipped and she was left dangling from from her one blade. She swung herself to dodge another on coming blast. 

This seemed to give the boy above some courage. Braving the fire he leaned out as far as he dared and held out his hand to her. 

His expression was unreadable. No doubt he hated showing any kindness or mercy towards her. Not after what she had done to him and Hiro. Yet, he was still here offering help. Maybe that goody two shoes kid had gotten to him after all. 

Hearing Hiro's words from before echo in her mind she decided to trust someone for once. 

It would be the last time she'd ever make such a mistake.

She swung her free hand up into his outstretched palm and began to climb once more. Then to her horror, he smiled. A wicked cold smile, and in those eyes she saw her own reflection. This kid wasn't just a fighter. He was a killer, just like her. 

His hand grabbed hold of, not her palm or wrist, but the blade that she held instead. His thick gloves shielding from the blade slicing his hand. 

"Don't ever come after my family again." He growled and then yanked the knife from her hand. She lost her balance and went tumbling down to the bottom of the shaft. She landed hard on top of the unlucky thugs directly below, but of course there were more standing by to capture her. 

She swore under her breath as she saw the treacherous teenager turn and leave as the guards lifted her up and shackled her hands.

* * *

"Where's Momasake?" Hiro asked as Baymax and Varian landed on the roof. The rest of the gang had already met up there and Varian was the last to join them. 

"I tried to help, but she fell. Yama's guards caught her." Varian explained. 

"We have to go back for her." Hiro protested. 

"Are you out of your mind?" Wasabi countered. "We barely got out of there alive." 

"I know but.." 

"Also you wouldn't have even been in there in the first place if it wasn't for her." Fred added. 

"Yes I kno…" 

"No buts, we can't do anything about it tonight." Gogo ordered, shutting down any more arguments. "We'll leave the cops an anonymous tip as to where she's at. Now let's get you home."

* * *

Hiro raided the upstairs kitchen. He was still upset over what had went down today and conflicted over the days events. He just knew in his gut that leaving Momasake behind was the wrong thing to do, yet he knew he had no logical reason to believe this. By all accounts, she wasn't someone who could be trusted and anyways the police had already been called and were presumably handling it. 

He tried to take his mind off his worry with food. He snagged a piece of buttered toast, spread some strawberry jam on top, and made his way back to his room. He stopped when he heard Varian's frantic pleading coming from the other boy's room. 

"Come on. Work. Work you stupid piece of junk" He heard Varian say through gritted teeth. 

His door stood slightly ajar and Hiro could peer into the room to see what the other teen was up to. 

He was hunched over his desk with a knife in one hand and some sort of yellow translucent stick in the other. He was trying to cut through whatever it was he held, but to no avail. The knife cracked and Varian tossed it aside in anger as a wordless cry of frustration escaped his lips. 

Hiro back-peddled away from the door. He had never seen Varian so angry before, nor so violent. Momasake's earlier comments about Varian sprain to his mind unbidden. 

Hiro was just about to leave when he then noticed the now broken blade on the floor. Its was Momasake's. 

Hiro's heart caught in his throat. What was going on? What had really happened back there at the vent?

It took a moment to steal his courage up enough to ask. He knocked on the door and spotted Varian hastily putting away the yellow object inside the desk before being allowed admittance. 

"Is..everything alright?" Hiro asked. 

"Yeah, yeah. Just doing some late night experimenting. How are you?" 

It was off putting how easily he lied, Hiro thought. 

"With Momasake's graphene blade?" Hiro pointed to the broken knife. 

Varian paused as he realized he'd been caught. He couldn't offer up an explanation, or simply didn't want to. 

Hiro tried a different line if questioning, "What's that yellow thing you're hiding in your desk?" 

Varian rubbed his hands together and swung a glance back towards the desk. He tried to answer but all that came out if his mouth was "Ahhh…" 

Hiro strode forward to see the object himself but Varian sidestepped and blocked his way. 

"Don't!" He yelled. 

Hiro tried to push pushed past him but the other boy caught him in his arms and held him back. 

"It's dangerous! Don't touch it!" Varian ordered. 

"If it's so dangerous then why do you have it!?" Hiro shouted back and tried struggle out of Varian's grasp. But the other boy proved the stronger and Hiro felt himself being steadily pushed back out of the room. Not roughly, but firmly and with deliberate purpose. 

"What's going on!? What are you hiding?" Hiro whined in expersation. 

"Just stay away from the amber!" Varian ordered. 

"You can't give me orders!" Hiro shouted back. "Also what's dangerous about a piece of amber anyways? And you still haven't explained how you got a hold of Momasake's knife." He jutted his bottom lip out in defiant pout and Varian ran a hand across his face and growled in frustration. 

"Look it's none of your business, okay!" Varian shouted. "It's..it's from my world, I brought it with me." 

Hiro raised an eyebrow. "And? That still doesn't answer how a hunk of rock is dangerous." 

Varian stepped closer. He was less than a foot taller than Hiro but the boy still loomed over him darkly. "There's nothing more dangerous than a hunk of rock." He said horsley. 

Hiro could only look up at him in confusion. What was Varian going on about? But still the warning sounded foreboding regardless of it's illogical nature. 

"Look, just promise me you'll stay away from the amber and I'll tell you how I got the knife. Deal?" 

Hiro looked Varian up and down trying to decide. Eventually he relented. 

"Deal." 

"I offered my hand to the woman because she had slipped, but when I grabbed hold I caught the blade instead and she fell." 

Hiro looked him in the eye. He seemed calm, cool, and collected and it sounded like the truth. Hiro wanted it to be the truth. 

"So you, you were trying to help her then?" 

Varian said nothing more but he held Hiro's gaze. 

"Then why try and hide it?" Hiro asked.

"Why tell?" Was Varian's response. "I don't get you man. The woman attacked you in your own home. Why care? " 

"Because it's the right thing to do." 

"Well, sorry, we can't all be saints." Came Varian's sardonic retort and he turned to leave. 

"It's not about that." Hiro protested as he follow him. "It's about not becoming like her." 

"Like her?" Varian echoed incredulously. "I'm not the one who broke into someone's home and held two teens at knife point! There's difference between protecting the people you care about and being a straight up jerk!" 

"Yeah, and what if, all you did was place yourself in danger?" 

Varian looked at him as if he'd grown two heads. 

"Whatta mean?" 

"We found evidence to connect Sirque and Mr. Sparkles. There's a new crime lord in town running things and they were after Momasake. Not only that but apparently they're also after portal tech. The same portal tech that brought you here. That you're working on right now. What if Momasake sells you out in order to escape herself?" 

For the first time Varian looked concerned. He rubbed his chin in thought. "Well, it wouldn't be the first time I had to elude a rich guy with a bunch of bloodthirsty bodyguards." 

"Don't joke." 

"I'm not joking." Varian looked at him and Hiro shivered at the seriousness in his eyes. "Look, I can handle myself. Also if they already got Sirque working for them then they don't need me. I probably only know just about as much as she does." 

"You sure?" Hiro pleaded. 

"No. But there's no use worrying over it now. Besides I got my friends to look after me." Varian's face split into that disarming grin of his, and against his better judgment Hiro began to relax. 

"Well okay, I guess you're right." Hiro smiled back. "See you in the morning." He waved goodnight and went back upstairs to his room.

* * *

Momasake was led into a well furnished room. There was a single window, bed, chest of drawers, a comfy recliner, bookshelf with books, and a connected bathroom with all of the amenities. It was just like a fancy hotel room, but the cuffs on her hands told her it was really a prison. 

Her guard slammed the door behind her shut and she heard the electronic lock lock into place. Then she heard a click and her shackles released themselves and fell away from her hands. Remote control no doubt. 

She made her way to the window. Locked as well and made of bullet proof plexiglass and reinforced with steal, so breaking it would prove difficult. 

"I wouldn't think about leaving here if I were you." Came an ominous voice over a loudspeaker. It was electronically distorted so as to hide the speaker's identity. 

Momasake glanced around but she couldn't spot the speakers upon a first look. Nor the cameras that no doubt were also hidden. 

"I should have known you'd be too stupid and stubborn just to take the money and leave." The voice said. 

"What do you want?" Momasake asked refusing to be goated by her captor's insults. 

"Just what's best for you. You'll stay here as my guest until this is all over." 

"You mean your prisoner. That's hardly good for my health." 

"Trust me it's better than the than alternative." The voice warned darkly. "If you need anything just ask the guard through the intercom. They're ordered to serve you as need be." 

"You have a funny way of showing hospitality, I must say." 

No reply. The voice was gone and Momasake was left alone. 

She wouldn't remain here long, she vowed. No prison could yet hold her. Besides, she now had three a scores to settle; one with the mysterious bosu, one with Big Hero Six, and one with her most hated enemy, Varian.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is your friendly reminder that Varian isn't a hero.  
> Also the plot thickens. *rubs hands together*


	26. Temper

Varian grumbled under his breath as he fiddled with a bunch of wires. He was sitting in his lab at school, trying to get the portal to turn on. The machine had decided not to work at all since his misadventure in the desert. 

"Grrr...ow!" 

His irritated growl turned to a yelp of pain as he shocked himself. This only drew more curses and angry groans. 

He wasn't having a good day. 

Heck he wasn't even having a good week. Everything had seemed to go wrong for him ever since he and Hiro had their run in with Momasake on Saturday. 

First off, he had just gotten back from his second therapy session this morning and, while it went smoother than the first one had, it still had put him out of sorts for the rest of the day. 

Dr. Brown's more reserved and quiet manner suited Varian much better than Dr. Mcguire's cherry earnesty, and he made sure not to delve too much into his past like he had last time. However it still made him feel self conscious to sit on a couch and talk to some stranger about what's bothering him. 

He couldn't shake the feeling that he was being analyzed. Much like the way he would dissect a compound to figure out its chemical makeup, so too did the older gentleman study him; peering over his reading glasses, jotting notes down on his yellow notepad, and every so often, stroking his salt and pepper beard in thought. 

They talked mostly about the nightmares Varian had been having and ways to mitigate them; habits he could try to form, like going to bed at a regular time everyday or meditation exercises similar to the ones Andrew and the rest of the Saporians would partake in. Varian wasn't sure how much he'd be able to keep up such practices and he kind of doubted that they would help anyways. 

And then there was the discussion on medication, which Varian really wasn't thrilled about. Dr. Brown wanted to put him on a small dosage of some sort of 'mood-stabilizing' medicine as he had called it; which only sent alarm bells off in Varian's brain. The doctor was patient enough to walk Varian through what the drug was made of, how it worked, and to reassure him that it was only temporary. 

"As a scientist yourself, you must know the importance of experimentation. You won't know if the medicine will help or not until you've tried it for awhile. That is why I'm starting you off on such a low dosage to test it out first." Dr. Brown encouraged. 

Varian understood. He understood far better than either the doctor or anyone else would ever know. The brain ran on chemicals, and chemical potions could very much alter behavior and mood if ingested. The right or wrong chemicals could make ones whole personality change or compel them to do things they didn't want to…. Like tell the truth for instance. Yes, he knew that better than anyone, and it was precisely why he was so uncomfortable with idea. 

But still, Varian had reluctantly agreed to give it a try anyways. If nothing else than to avoid a long drawn out argument or a lecture from someone. Though doing so had only increased his anxiety.

The second thing that had upped his discomfort was that Aunt Cass had discovered his firework display yesterday. 

Instead of being impressed like he had hoped, she had rounded on him for daring to build what she referred to as a "fire safety hazard." She then called Officer Cruz to come and confiscate his stash of firecrackers and gunpowder. 

Apparently one wasn't legally allowed to build explosives in one's home, even if you didn't intend any harm with them. He then had to endure two separate lectures from both of them on safety regulations. 

Oh, how he hated lectures. 

He just about had his fill of them these past three weeks. 

He also just about had his fill of Hiro and his 'holier than thou' act. The other boy hadn't brought up the incident with Momosake's knife again, but Varian could sense tension between them anyways. 

Varian didn't know if Hiro suspected the truth of what happened inside the vent or not, but the other boy had kept his distance from Varian for the past couple of days anyways. Keeping their conversations short and going quiet whenever he spotted Varian walk into the room. 

Despite this, Varian didn't regret his actions at all from that night. He was only protecting his friends after all and it's not like he harmed anyone else other than their attacker. 

He couldn't wrap his head around Hiro's concern for a person who actively threatened both him and people he cared about. Being noble and compassionate was one thing; going out of your way to help someone who only wants to hurt you was another. 

But that's what made the two of them different, Varian guessed. It was easy being a hero when you've never had to defend yourself from seamingly the entire world; to fight just to survive. 

Ever since his arrest and subsequently moving in with the Hamadas, Varian had only been reminded just how much he didn't belong there; of how much he didn't really fit in. As nice as his friends and Aunt Cass were, they really had no understanding of what he'd been through and he still felt alien to this world and to their beliefs. The run in with Momosake only served to heighten his feeling of inadequacy, as if he somehow fell short of the imaginary standards that everyone else seemingly already knew but he somehow didn't.

He kicked the device in aggravation. No, he wasn't having a good time at all and the sooner he could get back to his father then the better. 

He took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair as he tried to calm his runaway thoughts. Then he turned back to the console and readied to turn the portal back on, having finished his tweeks to the wiring. 

He saw the giant metal ring spark to life as the turbines hummed with power, slowly the blue energy that indicate that the portal was working made its way towards the center, then it crackled, fizzled, and died out as the portal shut itself down. 

Varian growled in anger and went to double check the wires again. Nothing off there. He checked the computer. Also okay there. He even tripled checked the turbine, before trying again. 

Nothing. 

Varian had had it. 

He gave a wordless scream of frustration before knocking his scientific instruments off his desk with a push. He kicked the portal repeatedly and threw anything he could find towards the devious device; yelling curses and venting his rage in angry grunts. 

It was petulant perhaps, but Varian didn't care anymore. He was tired. Tired of failing and tired of not being the golden boy like Hiro was. Hiro never got lectures. Hiro never made stuff explode, or flood the whole school, or get trapped in a desert. Hiro never gave in to his darker side. Heck, Varian wasn't even sure he _had_ a darker side. 

If the stories were to be believe than Tadashi had been Mr. Perfect and Hiro had followed in his footsteps of being the selfless brave hero. They all had. They were all just so, _good_ and perfect and wonderful, and he..he was broken and he knew it. And the longer he stayed, the more at risk he was of having everyone find out just how broken he truly was.

His angry yells turned to sobs. He didn't know to do with himself anymore. He turned around looking for more things to throw and was greeted by the sight of Honey Lemon and Fred standing in the doorway. 

He stopped what he was doing and stood stock still. His face turned beet red and his breath hitched. They were looking on with both shock and alarm and to Varian's horror he realized that they had seen everything. 

He couldn't stop from bursting into fresh tears as he knew that his friends had gotten yet another look at the cracks in his happy, innocent facade. He crumpled in on himself, plumping down on the ground and hugging his knees to his chest, and then he buried his face in his arms to hide his shame. 

"What should we do? Should we get Baymax?" He heard Fred say in a hushed and hurried whispered. 

"No, he's with Hiro at his internship, remember?" Honey Lemon whispered back. 

"Oh, should we call Gogo then or Wasabi?" Fred suggested instead. 

"Umm..I think they're both in class...we're just going to have to help instead." Came Honey Lemon's nervous reply. 

"Okay…......how?" 

Honey Lemon didn't seem to have an answer for that question and Varian only hugged himself tighter as he feared what their response might be; another lecture, more prying questions into his past, or would they just leave altogether and refuse to have anything to do with him? This last option really scared him and brought more unbidden sobs. 

He heard footsteps come closer and felt a gentle hand tentivently touch his shoulder. 

"V..Varian?" He heard Honey Lemon ask. She sounded scared. He'd had scared her! Of course he had. Everyone was afraid of him back in Corona. Why should here be any different? He wasn't a hero like his friends, he was the villain and, no matter how hard he tried to hide it, it was what he'd always be. 

"Why are you still here?" He sobbed, still not looking up to face them. 

"I..I'm sorry. Do, do want us to leave?"

He heard Honey Lemon stammer out this apology and he finally looked up at her in surprise. He searched her eyes in confusion as she continued to apologetically ramble. 

"We can go… if you want.. If you think that's best..or..we can stay too. It's up to you..we just want to help.."

Varian cut her off, "No, no, that's not what I meant. I...I just don't why you'd want to stick around...not after...not after.." 

He broken down in tears again and he saw Honey Lemon and Fred exchange worried glances. 

"We're just worried about you, dude." Fred explained. Honey Lemon nodded in agreement and offered an encouraging smile. 

Varian eyed them both warily. "You don't have to be so nice about it. You just saw me wrecking my own lab. I don't want you to feel like your obligated to still hang around just to try and make me feel better." 

"Well..if either of us was upset you'd try and help us right? That's just what friends do." Honey Lemon said. 

"Oh but, that... that's different. You don't ever get mad." 

Honey Lemon pouted, "I...get mad. I just... don't always know how to show it." 

She sighed and slumped down next to him, leaning against the wall. "I guess that's not always healthy though." 

"Neither is losing you temper and busting up the place." Varian bitterly added. He surveyed the mess around the room. He'd have a lot to clean up once this was over with. 

"Weeelll, throwing things isn't...good," she agreed,"but it's okay to be angry if something is bothering you." She reached out and slipped her arms around the crook of his elbow. She then nuzzled her head upon his shoulder while she hugged his arm. "We just need to help you find a better way to express yourself." She cheerfully added, as if this was the easiest and most obvious thing in the world to do. 

"Whenever I get in a bad mood, I just give Mole a prank call and that usually makes me feel better." Fred offered up blithely. 

Both Honey Lemon and Varian stared at him disquitedly. 

"That's..that's also not the best way to handle things." She said frowning.

"Why would you prank call a mole?" Varian asked in confusion. "I mean how would it even have a phone?" 

"Not a mole, _the_ Mole." Fred explained exasperatedly. "Richardson Mole; he's my arch nemesis. My greatest rival! The most sneaky and nefarious foe I've ever faced." 

"He's the boy who lives next door. They compete over comic book stuff." Honey Lemon clarified to a now even more confused Varian. 

"Try 'compete over everything'!" Fred retorted indignantly. "There's no lows to which he wouldn't sink just to show me up." He huffed and plopped down on the floor on front of them. 

"Ooookay…..well that wouldn't really work for me," Varian tried to steer the conversation back to solving the current problem, "So, what do you do Honey Lemon? How do you stay so calm all the time?" 

"I..don't know if 'staying calm' is the right words for what I do….buuuut, I do love going to a wrestling match now and then; it helps to release tension." 

Varian looked at her in surprise. "You wrestle?" On some level he knew that Honey Lemon was a capable fighter, she was a superhero, a modern knight, after all, but it was hard to reconcile the image of the sweet natured girl throwing herself into a tournament ring to slug it out with someone. 

"Oh.. Not me, no." Honey Lemon hastily corrected and gave an awkward laugh. "I mean, I wouldn't mind doing it but I'm not a professional, sooo...I just meant I go to watch. It's great fun. No one actually gets hurt and you can be as loud as you want to be." She tugged at a strand of her hair and keep nervously looking back and forth between him and the ground as if admitting some embarrassing truth. "I just like the atmosphere, and it fun to just scream your frustrations out sometimes." 

Varian softly laughed, "It's hard picturing you yelling, ever, but it sounds fun. Like those brawl tournaments we have back in Corona. There's a lot of shouting and cheering going on during those too." 

She perked up at that."Yeah, exactly like that! Would you wanna come to one? We could all get tickets to the next match!"

"Hey now, waaait a minute." Fred interrupted. "I thought we agreed to boycott the mecha-westling after Mole bought out the league! Please don't tell me you've still been going without me!" 

Honey Lemon didn't answer, she just nervously bit her lip as Fred placed his hands on his hips and glared at her in disapproval. He then soon relented and sighed…"Fine, I'll buy us some tickets, but I'm getting us seats to a different league. There's no way I'm giving more money to Mole." 

Honey Lemon's face broke out into a huge grin. Happy to have avoided an argument with her friend and even happier to attend her favorite sporting event. 

"Well, before I can go anywhere, I need to clean up this mess." Varian sighed. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up, I needed it." 

He stood up and started to pick up the broken metal and discarded instruments. 

"Oh, we'll help you." Honey Lemon chirped. 

"No, you don't have to..it's my mess, I need to be the one to clean it up." 

"Yeaah, but if we help it'll go faster and then we can all go get lunch." Fred piped in. "That's why we came by in the first place. It's nearly after one and you haven't left your lab all day. Also you still haven't told us what's bugging you. You've not really been yourself lately." 

Varian rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "The portal stopped working. I'm not making any headway and it's been two months now. I guess I'm just worried." 

"About your dad?" Honey Lemon interjected. 

Varian nodded."Yeah, that and other things. So far I've only managed to create a working spacial portal, not a interdimensional one, and even then I can't figure out how to control where it opens up at." 

"Then why not focus on that first?" Fred suggested. Varian looked at him in surprise, so he explained further. "Why not master the spacial stuff, get it where you can pinpoint global places, and then work your way up from there? It's like learning martial arts; you start small before learning more complex moves." 

"It's nothing like martial arts." Varian insisted, "but, that may not be a bad idea." He relented as he ran the possibilities through his mind; mastering more local coordinates could help in figuring out how to reach his own world. 

Honey Lemon also stood up and wrapped him in another hug. "You'll figure it out it!I know you will!" She encouraged. 

Fred also joined in on the hug before adding, "Yeah, but before then let's get this place cleaned up and go grab a noodle burger. I’m starving."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I shouldn't have to tell you that a character's thoughts aren't always reflective of an author's beliefs. If your doctor thinks you need medication then listen to them, and after trying it and still doesn't work for you, then speak with them about taking you off it gradually or replacing it with something else. Do Not Ever Stop Taking Meds On Your Own, That's Dangerous.


	27. The Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So you may have noticed that I removed the rating. The story hasn't changed, it's still PG, but there's no PG rating on offer and I will be covering more mature subjects than a G rating would cover. Such as this 'episode' which discusses underage drinking and its connection to mental health. This storyline will conclude in three chapters if you want to skip it.

Varian's back ached and he was beginning to get a crick in his neck, but he dared not move. He was in the middle of posing for a picture. Honey Lemon had asked him to be her model for her latest painting. 

They were both sitting inside one of the art studios on the SFAI campus. The San Fansokyo Art Institute was the artistic counterpart to SFIT and Honey Lemon was a part time student here as well. She had a final coming up and needed to complete a portrait before the end of next week and so Varian had volunteered to be her subject; any excuse to spend more time with the pretty redhead.

Though his plans to spend some quality time with his crush weren't going quite like he had hoped. She was too busy concentrating on her work to really talk to him and his joints felt stiff from standing still for so long in one position. He was also really, really bored. She had instructed him to stand facing to the side and all there was to look at was the blank wall opposite himself. 

He sneaked a sidelong glance at her out of the corner of his eye. She sat upon an odd looking bench with an easel attached to the front. In one hand she held a palette and a paintbrush in the other. She chewed on the end of its long handle in thought as she straddled the 'art horse' before her face lit up in inspiration. She then leaned down to apply paint to the bottom portion of the canvas. Varian watched as her brow furrowed in concentration and she stuck out the tip of her tongue as she tried to delicately get the stroke just right. 

Varian had to stifle a laugh. She looked so silly and beautiful and adorable all at the same time. He could just watch her all day he thought. Shame he was stuck facing the dang wall. 

Honey Lemon heard him anyways and looked up from her work. 

"Getting tired?" She asked with sympathy. 

"No. No. Not at all." Varian lied but he couldn't resist rolling his shoulders anyways to try an ease the soreness in his neck. 

"I just got this one little section to finish and then we can take a break and you can stretch, promise." 

"It's okay, take your time." He assured her. 

It took her another ten minutes to come to a stopping point. 

Finally free to move, Varian stretched his arms wide and then proceeded to rub the side of his neck as he walked over to look at Honey Lemon's handy work. It was very good he had to admit. It wasn't finished but what she had completed was rendered in great realistic detail. But was his nose really that long? He self consciously peered down at the tip of own nose, not that he could really gauge it's length that way.

His thoughts were interrupted though by Honey Lemon.

"I usually don't do realism" She nervously excused herself, "but the assignment was to render fabric on a person. What do you think so far?" 

"Well, it looks great to me!" He encouraged. "It's every bit as good the royal paintings inside Corona's palace." 

"Really!?" She blushed. "That's quite the compliment. I bet they have a lot of priceless artworks. I don't know if it's that good, but I did have fun painting your googles." She reached her hand up to readjust his headgear. 

He laughed and bent down to give her a better angle. Once she was done he looked at her and they shared a smile. It was nice being at her eye level for once. Oh, why did have to be so short!?

He was going to give her another compliment. Tell her how lovely he thought she was, but the moment was ruined by another student walking in on them. 

"Hey, Honey Lemon! Getting a head start on midterms hun?" The tall guy said as he sauntered over. He had blonde hair and wore a red blazer and tan dress pants. 

"Well it's due next week, so I don't know how much of a head start this is?" She laughed. 

"Two schools, dual majors, and a part time job; when do you ever find time to just have fun?" He teased. 

"Oh but I have lots of fun learning!" She sang and they both broke out in laughter. 

Varian felt a little left out. Apparently this was one of Honey Lemon's friends at the art school and they were sharing some sort of inside joke that he wasn't privy to. 

"Oh, Brad, I'd like you to meet my friend Varian." She introduced, "He goes to SFIT. Varian this is Brad. He's in my drawing class." 

"Ah, a member of the nerd school!" Brad said not unkindly as he offered to shake Varian's hand, "It's rare to get a visit from you mad scientist types. Got any interest in the arts?" 

"Eh, I draw sometimes." Varian admitted. "Usually drafting." 

"He's really good at it. You should see his naturalist drawings." Honey Lemon praised and Varian had to blush. He didn't really consider himself an artist, but drawing was often very helpful in his researches. 

"Oh, well maybe you should bring some by to the party and show them off." Brad said. "We're holding our annual Fourth of July blow out bash at the fraternity house tonight. The whole school is going to be there. That's why I drop by, to invite you Honey Lemon. You're both welcome to come, and bring the rest of your nerd friends too. I bet they'd like a break from their test tubes as well." He laughed at his own joke. 

"Oh, well, that's very nice of you Brad, but I don't know if I'll be able to make it." Honey Lemon apologized. "I gotta work a shift tonight." 

"Awe, that's a shame. Well, if you manage to get off the party starts at eight. See ya around." He waved goodbye and walked out the door. 

After he left Varian spoke up, "You're going on patrol on a holiday?" 

"Well, maybe," she bit her lip and then confessed, "I didn't want to say anything to Brad, but those frat parties aren't really for me. They can get kind of...wild." 

Varian laughed, "Not as wild as a Saporian party I bet. One time they released all of the horses from the stables and built a bonfire right on the front lawn of the palace using all the saddles as kindling. They said something about 'burning the bonds of oppression'. Anyways the party lasted till dawn. They were still at by sunup. Now that was wild, if a little weird." 

Honey Lemon stared blankly at him in confusion. "You...you mean like a protest? Are the Saporians activists?" 

"Yeeeah, you might could say that." Varian slowly said in a strained voice. Then he gave an awkward cough and tried to change the subject, "Why don't we finish up here and go grab something to eat? My treat." 

She agreed and he took up his pose once more so that she could get a little more work done before they left.

* * *

"Hi Aunt Cass!" Varian sang as he entered the Lucky Cat Cafe and swung behind the counter to nab a chocolate muffin. 

"Oh hi sweetie! How was your day?" Aunt Cass replied as she placed two steaming cups of cappuccino onto the counter. "Hernandez!" She called and a customer walked forward. "You're soy mocha cappuccinos are ready sir, and I added in a splash of honey in one just like you requested." 

Varian watched as she finished handing the customer his coffee before answering. "It went fine. I helped Honey Lemon with her painting assignment and we had lunch together. Then I did some work on my own project afterwards." 

"How did that go? I know you mentioned having some trouble with, what was it, the turbines?" 

Varian gave a dismissive shrug and took a big bite of the muffin he was holding. He didn't feel like getting into any great details about his project with Aunt Cass. Not the least of which because she didn't know he was from another world. 

Aunt Cass however sensed his evasiveness. "Look, I know that you're still disappointed about the fireworks, but today has been kind of slow. Maybe I can close shop up early and all three of us can go watch the official city fireworks down at the park?" 

Varian considered her offer but he didn't want her to go out of her way to just to accommodate him. "It's okay, you don't have to do that. I know there'll be a big crowd afterwards and you'll want the shop open for that." 

"Crowds, shmowds, there'll be plenty of opportunities to make money later." She dismissed. She walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, it'll be fun; our first family outing together." She gave him an encouraging smile as she waited for his answer. 

Before Varian could reply though, Hiro burst through the door. 

"Hi Aunt Cass! Bye, Aunt Cass!" He yelled in the same breath as he ran pass. Fred followed close behind, gave them a wave, and bounded up the stairs after him. 

"I think, Hiro, might have other plans." Varian said slowly. 

Aunt Cass gave a frown. 

"Honey Lemon and I got invited to a party tonight, over at the art institute, but she said she couldn't make it. I think her and Hiro and all them have a meeting of their ‘study group’ tonight." He explained. 

"On Fourth of July weekend?" She raised an eyebrow. 

"Well, midterms do start next week." 

"So, what are your plans? Are you going with the study group or to this, what was it, a painting party?" 

Varian shrugged. "I figured I just help you at the cafe. I'm not really in the study group and I don't know anybody at that art school besides Honey Lemon." 

Aunt Cass studied him for a moment before answering, "I think you should go." 

"Really?" 

"Yeah, get out and meet people, make a new friend, try something new. If you make a painting I'll hang it up on the wall." She joked. "Look, I don't want you cooped up here or at school all the time. Go, have fun; be a teenager while you still can." 

"You sure? You don't need me to help…" 

"I'm sure. Just text me when you get there and don't stay out too late. I would like your help in the morning opening up." 

"Okay, then I'll go get ready. It starts at eight." 

"Good, and don't forget to wash your face." Aunt Cass teased as she wiped a chocolate smudge from the corner of his mouth with her thumb. 

He rolled his eyes in exasperation and tried to pull away, but he flashed her a smile afterwards to show her that he wasn't really upset. Then he turned around and headed upstairs to get ready for the party.

* * *

Varian stepped off the bus in front of the SFAI campus. It was easy enough to find where the party was held. When Brad had said the whole school would be there, he hadn't been kidding. Varian followed the sound of blaring music and crowds of other students to the fraternity house. Right next to it was also the sorority house. They were each a couple of three story buildings painted with fanciful colors and designs and both had party goers running in and out of them. The crowd was so large that they spilled out onto the front lawns and a DJ was stationed in the middle pumping out loud drumming music for everybody to dance to. 

Varian paused on the sidewalk unsure of where to go or what to do. He didn't see a single familiar face in the crowd and the dancers were lost in their own little worlds. It felt out of place to jump right on in with them. 

He scanned the scene and debated about just leaving. Maybe it wasn't too late for just him and Aunt Cass to go see the fireworks. Then he noticed a girl standing at the doorway of one of the houses greeting people. 

She was a petite woman with curly brown hair and a wide friendly smile. She wore a simple white dress to match said smile and her sing song voice carried itself over the noise of the party. 

"Y'all go on in and have fun!" She told a couple as they walked inside. She then spotted Varian as he made his way up the front porch stairs. "Howdy!" She exclaimed. Her voice had a slight accent to it that told Varian that she was from a different province than California; possibly one of the eastern southern states of the country but he was no expert. 

"Hi, is this the fraternity house?" He asked. 

"No, that's next door. This is the sorority house, we're co-hosting the event. I'm Carol by the way." She held her hand for Varian to shake and he introduced himself. 

"Varian." 

"Well nice to meet ya, Varian. I don't think I've ever seen you around campus before. What major are you in?" 

"Physics, I go to SFIT. Brad invited me." 

"Oooh the nerd school. I gotcha. Yeah we got people from all over here tonight. Follow me, I'll show ya around." She gave another winsome smile and Varian followed her inside. 

They entered into a large living room adjacent from an open kitchen. On the opposite side of the stairwell Varian could see a den which housed a tv, card table, and billiards. Groups of students clustered around eating, drinking, and playing various games. 

"That's the game room," Carol said,"and we got three bathrooms, one on each story." She pointed towards a little hallway that ran past the stairs,"feel free to make yourself at home, just know that the bedrooms are off limits. We're trying to avoid a repeat from last semester." 

"What happened last semester?" 

"We were hosting a St. Patrick's Day party and some jerks trashed this poor girl's room, broke her vanity set, so no sneaking up there anymore to make out. If ya meet someone, take it to the frat house. Those guys don't care what you do." She rolled her eyes and Varian casted a confused glance at the stairs. 

"Who'd be so rude as to break into someone else's bedroom?" 

"I know right!" She agreed enthusiastically. "Some folks just ain't got any class." 

They made their way to the kitchen. There was a vast spread of food on the dining table and cups, plates, and silverware were sitting on the countertop behind that. 

"We got chips and dip, sandwiches, all kinds of snacks. There's ice cream in the freezer if ya want some, and of course the boys have more food over at their place." Carol walked over to an ice chest sitting at the end if the table. "Unfortunately all we got to drink though is coke and beer." She reached into the ice chest pulled out two cans. "I told everybody we should've gotten like some tequila or rum as well, but nobody wanted to spring for it." She gave an over dramatic sigh and then flashed Varian another one of her charming smiles to show that she wasn't fully serious about her disappointment in alcohol choices.

She offered him one of the cans she was holding.

It was the aforementioned beer and Varian hesitated to take it. He remembered his and Gogo's fight last month over his attempts to buy an ale for himself. But the law was just about purchasing alcohol, it didn't say anything about drinking it in your own or in someone else's home. There was no way every single person at this large party was over 21 and clearly everybody else was drinking too. After all, he was a college student same as them. Besides it'd be impolite to turn down a drink from such a nice hostess.

He thanked her and took the drink from her hands. It was a lighter grain than the darker ales he was use to, but there was no mistaking the familiar taste and smell of a good beer. It was comforting in a way. The drink reminded him of dinners with his dad on cold winter nights, gathering at the tavern to hear gossip and stories from from the old farm hands and to escape the midday sun, and of fall festivals and summer parties, like this one, where the whole village would be gathered to celebrate a bountiful harvest or to commemorate some ancient holiday. Perhaps it was an odd thing to feel homesick over, but going without something for two months that was once an ubiquitous part of his life hit him harder then he had realized. He really did not understand Americans' hang ups and silly rules over alcohol. 

"So how long have you been going to SFIT?" Carol asked as she popped open her own tab and took a sip. 

"This is my first semester. I just moved here from Europe." 

"Really!? Where from?" She asked excitedly. 

Varian had to give a chuckle, people always seemed so surprised and impressed just because he grew up in a different country. "Uh, if you looked on a map it'd currently say 'Russia' but we've always called Old Corona." He explained. "It's a German speaking country. My dad is the only native Russian speaker I know and he moved there from Umbra." 

"Umbra?" She asked confused. 

"The Dark Kingdom." Varian explained. "It's a region that's far north of Corona. So far that the days are really short and nothing can grow up there, according to my dad that is. I've never been there." 

"So it's like the frozen tundra? I'm guessing Corona is warmer then." 

"Warm enough to grow things, but not nearly as hot as it is here in San Fansokyo." 

Carol laughed, "You wanna talk about hot? I grew up down in Mississippi." 

"Mississippi? That's..that's the state with the really big river in it, right?" Varian asked, trying to recall what little he knew of the place. 

This only elected more laughter from the pretty girl. "Yeah, that's the one. This is my first year here, music major, I moved from Tupelo and it's not only hot but muggy. The humidity was murder on my curls. It couldn't stop them frizzing no matter what I tried." 

"Oh, well, I think your hair looks nice." Varian complemented.

"Oh, why thank you!" Her whole face lit up and her grin became even wider. She raised her hand to her head to give a light pat to the side of her afro. "I spent all mornin' styling it for the party. Not many people understand how much work goes into keeping hair like this lookin' good. How about you? Do you dye your hair yourself or go to get it done?" 

"Oh, uh," Varian's brain stalled as he realized she was talking about his stripe of blue hair. "It's not dyed at all…this? This was a...a..a lab accident. I can't seem to get rid of it." He awkwardly laughed and pushed his bangs to the side before taking another gulp of his beer. 

She suppressed a snicker. "A lab accident? What do y'all do over there at that nerd school?" 

"Well I'm researching portal technology, but all kinds experiments go on there all the time." He said, happy to steer the conversation away from his mysterious physical anomaly. 

"Portals? Like the kind that's suppose to let you travel all over the world or even enter into other worlds?" 

"Yup." He gave a proud smile. 

"That's sooo cool!" She cheered. "Y'all over there makin' sci-fi a reality and all I'm doing is singing for my supper." 

"You're a singer? Like for musicals or opera?" He asked enthusiastically. 

"Well I'm in the choral program here at SFAI, so I can technically sing opera, but really I wanna be a pop singer. I'm hoping after college I can move down to L.A. and try my luck." 

"Oh I bet you'll do great, and then I can tell people I met a real life pop star." 

She giggled, "You haven't even heard me sing yet. How do ya know?" 

"Well then let's hear it!" He encouraged and then took another swig of his drink. He was beginning to relax and his more outgoing nature was starting to show. Though whether that was because of the alcohol or the attention he was receiving from the lovely young woman before him, he couldn't tell. 

She laughed harder. "Oh no! I can't! There ain't even any music to sing too." 

"Then let's make some." He said as he leaned down closer to her with a cheshire grin across his face. She was lot shorter than him and for once it felt good to be the taller person in a conversation. "If ya got a guitar or piano lying around, I could play something for ya to sing too." 

She bit her lip in thought, "I think Jake might have one over at the frat house. We could go ask him." She said then she grab Varian's sleeve and they both ran out the door.

* * *

Varian stood next to the bus stop waiting for the tram to arrive. Carol came along with him to see him off. He had thoroughly enjoyed the party and he hated to leave. He felt more at ease here than he had in weeks and he was really hitting things off with this new girl. But he had promised Aunt Cass and he took promises very seriously. 

"It's sweet that you help out your aunt, but it's a shame you have to leave so early. It's only 12:30." Carol said. 

"Yeah, I know, but I gotta be up by six to unlock the doors to the cafe. You should come by sometime. I'll make you my patented special." 

"What's that?" She asked. 

"Shortbread cookies and an espresso." 

She giggled, "Did you bake the cookies homemade?" 

"Sure did." He gave her a wink which only ignited more laugher between them. They were both lightheaded from drink and merriment and would laugh at just about anything. 

"Ooooh you know what!" Carol suddenly exclaimed. "You should come dancing with us tomorrow night. We're going to Monroe's for Jessica's birthday." 

"You sure she'd want me around. I mean we don't really know each other.." Varian had met Carol's friends at the party. They all seemed like nice people and they had included him readily into their little group. They played games and music and generally just goofed around all night. But even then he didn't want to intrude. 

"Oh it'll be fine. The more the merrier! I'll text her right now and tell her you're comin'." 

She pulled out her phone and typed up a message. They heard the ding that indicated that she had gotten her reply. 

"She says, 'Sure, and bring a gift.'" Carol rolled her eyes. "She's jokin'. You don't have to get her nothin'." 

"Naw, it's her birthday. I'll get her a card at least. If I can get off work." 

Just then the bus pulled up. 

"Here, let me give you my number real quick." Carol offered and Varian handed her his phone. She entered her name and number into his contacts. "Let me know if you can come and I'll text you the address." She said as she handed him back the device. "It's easy to find and you can just meet us there." 

"Sounds like a plan. I'll be there." He waved goodbye and got on the bus to head back home.

* * *

Varian was almost to the cafe when saw Hiro and Baymax standing in the doorway. Baymax was wobbling back and forth while the smaller boy was trying and failing to push him inside. It didn't help matters that they were still dressed in their armour and Baymax was almost too tight to fit. 

"Come ooon…" Hiro spotted him as he came up. "Hey, lend a hand?" He asked. 

Varian did and together the started to push. 

"Why not enter in another way?" He grunted. 

"Ahh...well…" Hiro stumbled but Baymax answered for him. 

"Oh Hey, VarAI-ann,...We JUMped OFF a rooooffff..f and into the traaaashhh.." The robot slurred. 

"His battery is low." Hiro explained. "It's hard to get him to follow orders when he gets like this." 

"You have weird haaair." Baymax lent down to examine Varian's hair stripe more closely. 

Varian gave the robot an extra hard push to stop him from commenting further. It was just what was needed. All three of them landed in a heap on the floor. They froze, worried that they may have woken Aunt Cass. 

However it was only Mochi that greeted them.

"HAIRy baBY" Baymax exclaimed and got up to chase after the cat. 

The boys ran after him. Which caused only more of a commotion. 

Hiro casted his eyes about looking for a way to distract the robot while Varian fruitlessly tugged on the machine's arm. That's when Ruddiger popped up beside him, curious as to what was going on. In a panic Hiro grabbed the raccoon and held him out in front of the robot's face. 

"Hey look Baymax! A cute trash panda!" Hiro backed away towards the stairs still holding the unfortunate raccoon in midair. 

"He's not a trash panda!" Varian protested indignantly but was interrupted by Baymax suddenly changing course. 

"Ooooo" he cooed and made off after Hiro and this new object of interest, which sent Varian tumbling to the ground. 

Hiro managed to get the robot to follow him up stairs to the second floor with Varian following close behind, casting annoyed glares at both of them. 

"Cooome on… juuust a little further...oof!" Ruddiger had had enough and wiggled out of Hiro's grasp and jumped on his head. He tried to grab the raccoon before he got away but that just made the creature struggle harder, knocking off his helmet and pushing him to the ground as it bounded away up the second flight of stairs. 

Varian laughed. "Ha! Serves you right for calling him a 'trash panda'."

"Awwww….masked BAby go BYE bye." The robot said in disappointment and then turned to wobbled into the upstairs kitchen instead. 

Hiro gave an indistinct whine in frustration and Varian just rolled his eyes before following after the robot once more. 

Hiro picked himself up and dragged himself into the kitchen slumping down into a dining room chair in defeat. He rested his head on the table while he wearily eyed Baymax who was now playing with a drinking glass. The robot had amused itself with rolling the glass back and forth and back and forth.

"How did the party go?" Hiro asked. 

"Fine." Varian said as he walked over to the sink to pour himself a glass of water.

"Did you paint anything?" Hiro said teasingly. 

"It wasn't a painting party." 

"Then what kind of party was it?" Hiro asked confused. 

Varian shrugged "Just a regular party." He dismissed before taking a long gulp of water. 

Hiro watched him with growing suspicion. "Then why did you tell Aunt Cass that it was?" 

"Because I didn't tell her. All I said was that it was a party. What's the big deal?" 

Hiro frowned and then he sniffed the air as if just now noticing something. "What's that smell?" 

"Who ever smelt it dealt it." Varian sneered. 

"No! It's not that!" Hiro protested. "No. It smells.. yeasty…like .. like I don't know.." Hiro racked his brain trying to describe what the smell was and where he had come across it before. "Like whenever Aunt Cass tries to make beer battered fish…" he paused and looked at Varian who had stood there frozen and pensive. 

"I LIKE Fisshyes.." Baymax slurred but both boys ignored him. 

Hiro got up and walked over to Varian, the smell was definitely coming from him. "Were you drinking?" Hiro accused. 

"So I had a beer at the party." Varian brushed him off. "Big deal." 

Hiro placed a hand on Varian's shoulder to stop him from walking away. "Very big deal. Drinking is illegal." 

"Nooo, purchasing alcohol if you're under 21 is illegal." Varian corrected and firmly removed Hiro's hand. "The law doesn't say anything about just drinking it. Besides it's stupid law anyways." 

"I don't care how stupid you think it is." Hiro admonished. "There's a reason for it. Drinking's unhealthy and dangerous." 

Varian gave a sardonic laugh."Oh and soda isn't? Hiro, you don't get it. I've been drinking beer since I was five. We drink it in Corona like you do coke cola. Besides one beer isn't going to hurt you. It can't even get you drunk." He rolled his eyes, put the glass of water down, and started to leave. 

Hiro wasn't ready to give up the argument just yet though. "Oh, so you think that makes it okay to lie to Aunt Cass and then just sneak off to who knows where?"

Varian stopped in his tracks and screwed up his face in anger before rounding on the other teen. "Oh and look who's the one wearing armor and sneaking a robot back into the house in the middle of the night! I told Aunt Cass where I was going and I went there and I came back on time just like she asked. You've been lying to her since before I ever even arrived." 

"That's different!" 

"Is it!? Is it really, Hiro? How many lectures have I had to sit through just to cover your butt? How many lies have I had to tell to keep your secret? How many times have I had to step in before you got hurt? Yet, I go out to have fun for one night, to just be normal for once, and suddenly _I'm_ the bad guy." 

Hiro pouted and angry tears stung his eyes, but he couldn't come up with a response. 

"Ssssh… you'll wake the Hairy Baby…" Baymax's voice pierced the silence and the boys turned to find him now cradling Mochi in his arms. "Who'sss a good BAby...wh-who'sss a goooood baBY." 

"You're robot's more drunk than I am." Varian said flatly. 

Hiro sighed in exasperation, "It's not about that.." 

"Then what is it!?" Varian angrily interrupted, "That I'm not a goody two shoes like you? That I'm a jail bird while the rest of y'all are superheroes? That I'm not _Mr. Perfect_ like Tadashi was?" 

"N-no.." Hiro backed away in shock, but before he could gather his wits Varian pressed on. 

"Look, go ahead and tell Aunt Cass." He said bitterly."See if I care. I'm going to go take a shower." He then turned around on his heel and stormed down the hall to the bathroom. 

"Varian…" Hiro ran after him but the other teen just slammed the door in his face. 

Hiro angrily pounded on the door but Varian ignored him and Hiro could hear the sound of the faucet being turned on. He turned away defeated as he debated on what to do. Just then the door to Aunt Cass's bedroom started to open.

Hiro looked down at the armor he was still wearing terrified. He then dove into the living room, flung himself on the couch, and wrapped the throw blanket around him seconds before Aunt Cass walked in. 

She yawned and mussed up her hair "Hiro is that you?" She said sleepily. 

"Y-yeah" he squeaked. 

She walked over to him and tenderly ran her hand through his hair. He tensed, knowing how close he was to being caught. 

"How was your study group?" 

"Fine." 

She paused and listen to the water running. "Did Varian make it in?" 

"Yeah, h-he's taking a shower right now." Hiro sighed. If he was going to tell Aunt Cass what had happened now would be the time, but his mind still raced with worry and indecision. 

"Oh, well I hope he had a good time at the party." She yawned again. "I'm glad your both back safe." She kissed Hiro on the forehead. "Don't stay up too late, okay." 

"O-okay." 

She headed back to bed but stopped long enough to wish Hiro a happy fourth. 

"You..you too." 

"Next time we should plan ahead for all us to go on a trip or something." She smiled. 

"Sounds great." Hiro responded with a strained voice and he only relaxed when heard Aunt Cass close the door to her room. Only to tense up a again as he heard a loud crash come from the kitchen along with a cat hissing in anger. When Aunt Cass didn't reamerge he let out a long weary sigh. He still needed to plug Baymax back into his charging case. 

However, before he went to do so, Hiro paused long enough to look at a picture of him and Tadashi hanging on the wall. 

"What would you do?" He asked the picture in despair. He felt so lost. Tadashi would have known how to reach Varian, Hiro was sure of it. But he wasn't Tadashi. 

Another crash came and Hiro shoved aside his worries with a heavy sigh before checking on his robot.


	28. The Club

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again just a friendly warning that this episode features and discusses teenage drinking

Varian stumbled out of bed and yawned. He looked at the clock and noticed the time. 6:30. Shoot! He was suppose to be up before six! 

He threw on some clothes and rushed down stairs to the cafe. 

Hiro and Aunt Cass were already down there setting up for the day. 

"Sorry.. I slept in." He apologized. "Why didn't anybody wake me?" 

"Oh well, I figured you could use the sleep. Besides it's only thirty after. Sit down and have some breakfast." Aunt Cass placed a couple of egg sandwiches on the table along with a cup of coffee and a cup of orange juice and encouraged the two boys to have a seat. While they both ate, Aunt Cass blithely carried on the conversation. 

"So how did last night go?" 

Varian eyed Hiro who glared at him over his sandwich but didn't say anything. "It went great actually. I even met someone while there." 

"Oooh, that's wonderful sweetie. I'm so happy that you're making friends." 

"Her name's Carol and she's a freshmen at the Art Institute. She just moved here from Mississippi, so she's new in town like I am." 

"Oh, so she's what, 17... 18?" 

"I..I honestly don't know. I didn't think to ask. But she invited me to another party tonight. If it's okay, I thought I might go. I could find out then." 

"Another party?" Aunt Cass raised an eyebrow. It was a holiday weekend sure, but it was unusual to get invited to two parties in two days. 

"Yeah, it's Jessica's birthday. She's Carol's friend and another person I met at the art school. They're all going to some restaurant to go dancing at. I forgot the name of the place, but Carol was going to text me directions if I could make it." 

Aunt Cass thought a moment about it and then nodded along. "Well okay, just let me know where and text me when you get there. Also, once again, try not to stay out too late." 

"Wait." Hiro interjected. He couldn't believe the ease with which Varian lied, nor could he believe that the other teen had just tricked Aunt Cass into letting him go out again to another wild party. He considered telling the truth right then and there, but the angry glare from Varian reminded Hiro of their argument last night and how Varian held dirt over himself as well. So he came up with an excuse instead. "I...I thought you wanted us all to spend more time together this weekend?"

"Well there's still Sunday tomorrow." Aunt Cass answered. "Why don't we have family movie night again? What do ya say? We could go out to the theater and catch a new release. I think their playing some sort of superhero movie this week." 

The boys exchanged awkward glances but in the end agreed. Neither were ready to include Aunt Cass into their current feud. Besides she looked so happy at the thought of them all going out and spending time together as a family, that they just didn't have the heart to disappoint her. 

They finished breakfast and Hiro left to meet with the rest of the gang. Varian however stayed to help with the cafe as promised. 

"You know," Aunt Cass said while they washed up the morning dishes together. "I know it's only been a month, but I want you to know that we're all so glad to have you here. It hasn't been the easiest thing in the world readjusting, I know, but things are really working out; you're making friends, you and Hiro are really coming together here lately, and most of all you make our family just a little bit bigger and a whole lot happier just by being here." 

She placed a loving hand on his shoulder, and Varian felt his heart drop at those worlds. He still didn't feel like he fit in here with the Hamadas and his relationship with Hiro had only degraded over this past week, which was already rocky enough to begin with. But Aunt Cass was so loving and hopeful that Varian only felt guilty for not measuring up to her ideals. 

He gave her a small smile but deep down he couldn't wait to get out of here and back to another party. One where no one really knew who he was nor cared. Where he could drown out his intrusive thoughts and self doubt with a stiff drink.

* * *

"He went to the frat party?" Honey Lemon asked in worry. 

Hiro was with the rest their friends at Joe's Dinner, recounting his argument with Varian last night. 

"And you're sure he'd been drinking?" Gogo also asked with a frown. 

"He said so himself and he smelt like beer when he came in." Hiro confirmed. 

Gogo's eyes narrowed but she didn't say anything further. 

"So what did you do?" Wasabi asked. 

"Nothing. I..I wasn't sure how to tell Aunt Cass." Hiro looked around at his group of friends who were all giving him judgemental stares. "Look, I was still in my armor, alright. It was past midnight, and Varian had a point when he said that he covered for us all the time." 

"You mean he covered for _you_." Fred pointed out. "You're the one hiding your superheroing from Aunt Cass." 

Hiro heaved a sigh, but Wasabi added his own opinion before he could offer up a defense. "You should have told her. Both about the drinking and about you being in big hero six. She's going to find out someday anyways and the longer you put it off the worst it's going to be." 

Hiro cast his eyes downward unable to come up with a retort to that. 

"Where's Varian now?" Gogo asked.

"Working at the Lucky Cat and after that he's going to another party." 

"Another one?" Honey Lemon interjected. 

"Someone he met at the other party invited him to go dancing tonight. He convinced Aunt Cass that it was just innocent birthday party." Hiro explained. 

Everyone exchanged worried looks. 

"You need to tell Aunt Cass." Gogo insisted. 

"No, wait." Hiro pleaded. "Look, maybe we can handle this ourselves. Varian won't listen to me, but he might listen to all of you. Then there'd be no reason to involve Aunt Cass in any of this." 

"And if he doesn't listen?" Fred asked. 

"Hiro, why are you so against just letting an adult handle this?" Wasabi added. 

"Look, Tadashi would go after him. He'd be there to help and try to reason with him, not be a snitch." 

Hiro's explanation only elected more worried glances. 

"And did it ever occur to you that Tadashi wasn't always in the right?" Gogo asked. 

"What do you mean?" Hiro asked with trepidation. 

Gogo sighed, "Look, we all miss Tadashi. He was a wonderful person… but that doesn't mean didn't make mistakes. Just because he kept trying to bail you out of those bot fights himself doesn't mean he should have." 

Hiro had no words for that. Never in a million years would he have questioned Tadashi's methods. If it wasn't for his brother he would still have been bot fighting, and would have either been hurt or in juvie right now if not for trying to reach out to him. 

He searched Gogo's eyes questioningly before she heaved a sigh in frustration and relented. "Fine. Where is this party?" 

"I don't know. We'll probably have to just follow him; catch him before he gets there." 

"Then I propose we suit up." Fred said. "To the headquarters!"

* * *

Varian stood in line to get into Monroe's with Carol and the rest of her friends. He'd had rushed to find Jessica a birthday card and a small gift and met them all at the restaurant right around nine. Only the restaurant, wasn't a restaurant, it was called a 'club' instead. There was still food and drink to be had, but the real reason folks came here was to dance, and Varian could hear the loud thumping music even from where he stood outside. 

"Must be a really popular place." He shouted to Carol over the music and other party goers. "I don't see how we'll be able to dance with such a crowd." 

Carol laughed "Yeah, Monroe's like the hottest spot in town. But there'll be room, the line just makes it look more crowded than it is." 

Varian looked up ahead and spotted a large man at the front of the line. People were handing him cards or flashing their wallets towards him. Upon inspecting the cards he would then let them in through the door. 

"What's he doing?" Varian asked. 

Carol looked at him in surprise. "Checking I.D. They don't let you into the club unless you can prove your 21. That way they don't have to check everybody who wants to buy a drink inside." 

Varian's heart stopped. No one here knew his actual age he realized. At the last party it didn't seem to matter so he hadn't brought it up, but here he'd be found out and no doubt made to look the fool all because he didn't meet some abritay requirement. 

"I...I don't think they'll let me in then." Varian admitted to the girl. 

"Why not?" 

"Well, I haven't a license yet, and.." Varian was going to admit the truth but Carol interrupted. 

"Oh, cause you just moved here." She nodded her head as if she had just figured out his problem. "Well you have some other sort of ID don't you? A passport or a visa?" 

"Yeah I have both those things, but you don't understand.." 

Carol placed a hand on his chest to stop him. "Don't worry boo. We got you. We'll make sure you get in." She gave him a smile and a wink. 

"Wouldn't be first time we snuck someone in." Jake put in. 

"It wouldn't?" 

Jessica laughed. "You think we're all 21 one? I mean I am, it's my birthday, but I wasn't always. Besides it's a dumb law anyways." 

"If you're old enough to vote and join the army, you should be old enough to drink." Another one of Carol's friends, Daryl, interceded. 

Everyone in the group seemed to be in agreement with this sentiment and Varian relaxed just a little bit. Though only a little. He wasn't necessarily voting age either. 

"There's no age laws in Corona. Everybody drinks." Varian added. 

"That's right, Europe doesn't have the same laws as we do." Carol said as if only just now considering the difference. 

"I went to Germany once." Mary said; she was Daryl's girlfriend. "I was in high school and was able to get into a bar no problem. They just don't care over there." 

"I'd love to visit Europe someday." Carol said, changing the subject. "I think Ireland would be a cool place to visit." 

"I'd like to see Spain." Jessica threw her opinion in. "Would you take me see Spain baby?" She asked of Jake teasingly. 

"Sure, if you got a couple of thousands of dollars lying around." Jake joked. 

This elected more laughter from the small group of poor college students, and Varian's worry began to wane. Only to kick back up once they reached the front of the line. Panicked he dug into his pocket and pulled out the fake passport that Professor Granville had given him. 

"What's this?" The bouncer at the door said incredulously. 

"It's a passport." Carol said forcefully before Varian could answer. "Ain't you ever seen a passport before?" 

"It's not even in English." The guard threw back annoyed and he flipped the booklet around to show off the I.D. 

"Well of course not." Carol rolled her eyes. "It's in Russian. He's from Russia." 

"Ok, prove it. Say hello in Russian." The bouncer clearly didn't believe them.

"Um.. privyet?" Varian answered hesitantly. It was a bit of a loaded question as there was more than one way to say hello in Russian, but Varian defaulted to the more informal greeting as it's what he and his dad would use most often. 

The guard raised an eyebrow still not convinced. 

"I also have my visa and college I.D. if you want that instead." Varian offered helpfully as he pulled out his wallet. He didn't think it'd be enough to let him in but better to be cooperative then to start a fight. 

Just then Daryl from behind them yelled, "Hey, what's the hold up!?"

The bouncer took a look at the long line spiraling behind them and rolled his eyes while heaving a frustrated sigh. He didn't have time for this. "Fine." He said as he handed back the passport. "Go on in." 

"Thanks." Varian mumbled as he took the I.D. back. He couldn't believe that had just worked. 

"Yeah!" Carol added and then stopped to ask Varian in a whisper. "Uh, how do you say thanks in Russian?" 

"Spasibo." Varian replied. 

"Yeah, Spasibo!" Carol called back to the security guard in very bad mispounation of the word before they headed into the club.

* * *

"He's already left. We just missed him." Hiro said as he hung up the phone.

The gang huddled upon a rooftop across the street from the Lucky Cat. They had wanted to catch Varian while he was leaving, but it seemed like they were too late. 

"Did your aunt say where he went?" Gogo asked. 

"No, and I couldn't figure out a way to ask her without raising suspicion." 

"Why not just call him instead?" Honey Lemon suggest. "Ask him himself where he's at and tell him we want to meet up."

"I doubt he'd want to talk to me" Hiro sighed. 

"I'm on it." Wasabi said, but after several rings the call went to voicemail. 

"Now what?" Fred asked.

"Looks like we'll just have to track him down the old fashioned way." Hiro said as he walked over to Baymax and mounted the robot. "Let's go." 

Everyone dispersed to look for the wayward teen.

* * *

"Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!" The merry group chanted as Varian and Jessica competed to see who could finish a whole pint of beer first. The others having given up the challenge before hand. They were neck and neck but the birthday girl sputtered with laughter at the last minute and Varian scored the win. He slammed the empty mug on the the table with a wide grin as the rest of the gang applauded. 

"Ok, you win," Jessica conceded. "But beer is easy. I'd like to see you try that with some hard stuff, like whiskey or tequila." 

"I don't know what tequila is, but your on!" Varian shouted over the den of noise. 

The club was dark and smoky, with the only light coming from the flashing strobe globe twirling above the dance floor. Music blared a thumping beat that resonated in your chest and patrons crowded around to dance, drink, and make out. The little group had taken up a small round table off in the corner so as the better hear each other talk, but even then one had to half yell to be heard. 

"Hey, can we get some shots over here?" Jake called to a waitress, then he turned to Varian and said, "Okay, you wanna play? We'll do a round of shots. Most down the hatch wins. Loser pays for the drinks." 

"Deal" Varian agreed. 

The waitress brought a tray of shots and Varian eyed the small glasses smugly. You could down one in a single gulp. This would be easy he thought. Only to nearly lose with the first sip alone. Whatever this tequila was, it was stronger than either ale or wine and burned the back of his throat as it went down. He finished the drink and tried to suppress a cough. 

"Not as easy as you thought it was, hun?" Jake smiled as he picked up his second glass. 

Varian however was not one to give up easily, and besides he really didn't want to blow through all of his hard earned money in one night. So he steeled himself and grabbed another shot, and then a another, and another. 

On the fourth shot Varian saw Jake starting to slow, his face becoming red from alcohol. Varian too was becoming lightheaded but he pressed on and nabbed his fifth drink. He didn't notice if Jake had drunk his fifth yet or not, he was too focused on winning, but as he reached for the sixth he heard the other guy call out defeat. 

"Okay, okay! You win!" 

Varian flashed a grin and drunk the sixth anyway in celebration; just to rub it into other college kid's face. This last glass he also slammed hard upon the table in victory as the tiny crowd around him cheered. 

Jake pulled out his wallet to pay the tab, both annoyed and begrudgingly impressed that he had lost. 

"You're like the scrawniest guy alive; where do you put it all?" Daryl asked incredulously. 

Varian shrugged his shoulders as he had no real answer to give. 

"Well let's take a break from the booze for a while." Carol interceeded. "I mean we came here to dance after all. That is if you boys can still stand after all that." 

She tugged on Varian's sleeve and pulled him to the dance floor and the rest of group followed after them.

Varian stood in the middle of the floor at a lost of what to do. He wasn't a bad dancer persay, but he didn't know any American steps and he doubted any of the more traditional folk dances that he knew would fit with this type of music. 

"So..how does this dance go?" He shouted Carol above the music. 

She laughed, "Anyway you want it to. Just feel the music." She swayed her hips in time to the beat to give him an idea. 

Varian figured he would look silly doing that, it was clearly more of a move for women, but he did see most of the men jumping up and down and so he tried this in time with the music. 

"Yeah, that's right! You got it!" Carol encouraged as she slid closer to him.

Embolden, he grabbed her hand and gave her a twirl. This enlightened more laughter and they both broke down into giggles before carrying on with their dance.

* * *

"Any luck?" Gogo asked Hiro as the gang gathered on top of a building in the middle of downtown. 

"Baymax found an energy reading similar to Varian's close by, but it's fuzzy. He's probably in one of the buildings around here, but there's like eight or more clubs just on this street." Hiro explained. 

"Well we can probably go in and check while you can stay out here and keep an eye on things." Honey Lemon suggested. 

"Yeah, but there's no guarantee they'd let any of us in either." Fred pointed out."None of us are over 21." 

"Look maybe we're over reacting here?" Wasabi offered optimistically. "What makes you think Varian could of snuck into any of these places? The kid still looks like he's twelve and he doesn't even have a driver license. Or it could even be that he was telling the truth about it being an innocent birthday par...." 

He paused mid-thought as they heard a familiar laugh coming from the street below. 

"I have found Varian." Baymax said, stating the obvious as they all peered over the roof to see their friend drunkenly walk out of one of the clubs across the street. He was with a short girl with a dark curly afro and they were giggling over something as they made their way towards the bus stop nearby. 

"Or he could be stumbling out of a bar with a drunk girl hanging on his arm." Wasabi corrected himself, clearly disappointed. 

Honey Lemon frowned. "I know her...she's in the sorority at SFAI."

"Carol." Gogo confirmed. She had been dragged to the occasional makeup party there, by Honey Lemon herself no less. "But she's a freshman. No way she's old enough to be drinking either."

"Peer pressure can often persuade people into partaking in unsafe activities." Baymax stated as he launched into his health education protocols. "If someone is pressuring you into doing something that you don't feel is safe; say no and walk away..." 

"Uh, yes, Baymax. We know." Hiro informed the robot. 

"So do we go down there now to talk to him, ooorrrr..." Fred asked, but the arrival of the bus answered for him. Varian and the girl boarded the public transport before anyone could to do anything. 

They all exchanged worried and exasperated looks with each other before taking off to follow the tram.

* * *

Varian stood in the middle of the bus holding on to one of the center poles. He and Carol were the only two occupants aboard besides the driver, and he could have sat down anywhere, but he was beginning to feel woozy from all the alcohol and standing upright helped to keep him balanced. 

Carol however decided to sit down. She sat across from him with her face in the palm of her hand and her eyes sleepily staring out at nothing in particular. 

"Do you have to work tomorrow too?" She asked suddenly, breaking the quiet. 

"Uh..not sure. Probably. I usually work weekends. Either way though, I know my aunt has been talking about us all spending some 'quality family time' together all weekend long." 

Carol smiled. "Responsible, family man, a great dancer, it's a wonder you're still single." 

Varian blushed but laughed off her comment. "Responsible? Me? Yeah, no…..but family does mean a lot to me and I did promise Aunt Cass, soooo, sorry I had to bail out early again. But you know, you could have stayed at the party without me." 

Carol shrugged. "Eh, I was about done anyways. The guys are fun to hang out with and all, but after awhile you start to feel like a fifth wheel, ya know?" 

"Yeah, I know how that feels like." Varian agreed dryly. 

"But you do know you didn't have to escort me home right?" Carol added with a laugh. 

"I know, I just, I wanted to make sure you got home safe." 

"Ever the true gentlemen, hun?" 

Her smile grew wider and Varian couldn't tell if she was teasing or flirting. He rubbed the back of his head self-consciously. He was beginning to like this new girl, but he wasn't always the best at picking up social cues and he didn't want to ruin anything by being presumptuous. 

"Well, I don't know about that, but looking out for one another is just what friends do, right?"

Carol looked surprised by that comment. "I..I guess…I have a hard time picturing Jake or Daryl doing anything so chivalrous through." 

She snickered at that, but Varian tilted his head in confusion. 

"But I thought you guys were friends?" 

"Oh don't get me wrong, they're good people and all, it's just all we do is hang out at parties sometimes. I don't expect them to like loan me money or come and bail me out of the slammer or anything. We ain't that close." 

She sounded nonchalant but Varian nevertheless grew concerned. 

"Then who is?" He asked. 

Carol was caught off guard by that question. 

"Who do you call when you need help?" He clarified. 

She opened her mouth to answer, but no sound came out and she just as quickly closed it again. They awkwardly stared at each other for a few moments before the bus came to a stop in front of the SFAI campus. Carol quickly got up and hurried off the tram. Varian rushed after her. 

"I'm sorry! Did I say something wrong?" 

She didn't answer him but instead started to storm up the front porch steps in front of the sorority house. 

"Look, I didn't mean to offend you." He called after. "I..I just…" 

He trailed off and she paused on the stair. She didn't turn to face him, but the very fact that she was no longer running away encouraged him to try again. 

"Look, I just, I know what it's like to be on your own, and I know how hard it is to move someplace where you don't really know anybody and nothings familiar and you don't feel like you always fit in. I.. I just meant that if you ever needed someone, for anything, you could call me...you know, if..if you wanted to.. that is."

She finally turned to look at him with that admission. There was a pout on her face and tears threatened to spill from her eyes, but she tried to make a joke instead to distract from this. 

"You know most folks don't talk like you do." She half heartedly laughed. "You sound like a character out of a cheap rom-com." 

He offered her a small smile. "Eh, well, what can I say? I am Russian remember." 

They broke down into soft giggles at that.

"You wanna come inside and grab a coffee?" She asked after there laughter had subsided. 

"Oh, I'd love to, buuuut it's after one. I should probably get going soon." He declined.

"Well alright, but you have my number, so don't be a stranger." She said before giving him a wink and another of her charming smiles. 

She waved him goodbye before heading inside. Varian waved back and then turned to leave, only to be confronted by the rest of his friends waiting for him at the bus stop. 

They were dressed in their armor and stood there glaring at him sternly. 

"Hey...guys.." Varian slowly said, confused as to why they were here."What's going on?" 

"We could ask you the same thing." Gogo replied. 

"Uh...well, I'm heading home from a party, soooo..." He made to leave, fully ready to just walk to the next stop instead of hanging around for yet another argument, but Wasabi placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Do have any idea what an incredibly stupid thing you just did today?" His friend asked. 

Varian cast him an angry pout and back-peddled away defensively. He stumbled a little, still feeling tipsy from the tequila, but righted himself before falling. 

"You can barely even stand up." Wasabi admonish, further driving home his point.

Varian huffed in frustration and threw an accusing glare at Hiro. He was getting really tired of everyone judging him and he rightly guessed that the other boy had dragged their other friends into this. However before he could respond, Gogo laid into him instead.

"You broke your promise." 

Varian's stomach dropped as he realized that, yes, he had indeed went back on his word about not trying to purchase alcohol. Yet, he still wasn't ready to admit fault. Who were they to act so high and mighty? It was just a few drinks? It wasn't like he had hurt anybody. 

"So what's it to you?" He threw back."It's not like what I do affects any of you. Me going to a party now and then doesn't harm anyone." 

"B..but you could get hurt." Honey Lemon timidly said. 

Varian looked at her confused. What did she mean hurt? It was just a party. 

"You snuck into a club at sixteen with bunch of strangers." Fred explained. "Like that's just ain't safe, man."

"Fred's right," Wasabi added, "anything could have happened to you in there and we wouldn't have known."

And for the first time, Varian started to actually feel guilty as he realized just how worried his friends were for him. However his defensiveness kicked back up when Hiro added his two cents. 

"You need to stop and think about what you're doing first. You can't just keep jumping into situations without…"

" _Oh knock it off!"_ Varian interrupted. "I am sick and and tired of everyone telling me what I can and can't do! I've been on my own since I was fourteen! I know how to take care of myself, alright!" 

"No you don't." Gogo pushed back. "You know how to survive, and I hate that you had to, but that's not the same thing as actually being mature. Now just stop and come with us; we're taking you home." 

She reached out to grab hold of Varian's sleeve and to pull him along, but Varian wouldn't comply. He wasn't entirely sure what happened next, in his addled state, but she pulled in one direction and he tugged his arm away in another. Either her blades rolled out from under her or he didn't realize his own strength, but either way Gogo wound up lying flat on the ground after their struggle. 

Everyone froze in shock and Varian felt his heart race as his anger turned into alarm and shame. 

"Gogo!" Honey Lemon rushed to her friend's side to help her up. "Are you alright?" 

Gogo refused the help however. Instead she gave Varian a hurtful and angry glare as she picked herself off the ground. His breath shallowed as he waited for her to go off again, but all she did was shake her head at him, turned around, and then skated away. 

That was somehow even worse than a lecture. 

Honey Lemon followed after her. 

"Dude, what is wrong with you!?" Hiro reprimanded and all Varian could do was look at him with wide eyes. What _was_ wrong with him? 

"I...I...I don't know!" He choked." I just...I just wanted to forget… just for a little awhile. Forget that I'm...I'm.. b-broken." 

"And how does _this_ help?" Wasabi asked, and Varian had no answer.

"Look, I know you've been through some really messed up stuff." Wasabi continued. "More than most people ever will, and I'm sorry you had to go through that, but you can't keep on like this." He sighed in defeat. "Come and get us when you're ready to actually deal with things." And then he too turned and started to walk off. 

Fred cast worried glances between Varian and the direction of where their friends were leaving, unsure of what to do. Ultimately, he too turned away and reluctantly made after the rest of the group. 

Varian could hardly see through the tears now. They were leaving him. Everyone was leaving him. They always did at some point, and here he had dared to hope things might just be different in this new world. Yet, he had no one to blame but himself. 

That's when he noticed Hiro and Baymax still standing there, watching him disquitedly. 

"Well, aren't you going to leave too?" He asked accusingly. 

Hiro took a moment to find the answer, but when he did he said, "Why should I? We're going to the same place, remember." He held out a hand to Varian. "Come on, Aunt Cass is waiting." 

Varian blinked through his tears to see Hiro standing before him with his arm outstretched and a look of concern on his face. Varian's breath quickened and his vision swam. He had felt lightheaded all night and now the added stress of the recent fight only seemed to highlight just how drunk he really was. He was so sure he had been careful, that he hadn't really had that much, but that didn't stop the ground from rushing up to meet him as he fell, nor the darkness enclosing around him as he fainted dead away.


	29. Apologies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the last chapter to discuss underage drinking

Varian awoke with his head pounding, his stomach rolling, and a bad taste in his mouth. He brought his hand to his eyes to try and rub the soreness away and to block out the sunlight peeking through his bedroom window. No doubt Hiro and Baymax had brought him home last night, not that he could remember it. 

Varian had only experienced a hangover once before in his life. At thirteen, he had wanted to prove himself a man and so had tried to join in with older men of the village during the harvest festival while they made toasts to celebrate the end of a long hard season. His father had been too busy to notice. It had been a fruitless exercise that only brought him shame and sicknesses. As he had laid in bed the next morning, Quirin just gave a weary sigh and said,"I hope you've learned your lesson, son." and then turned away to attend to his duties. 

If only he had. What was wrong with him? Oh, why didn't he ever learn?

Varian groaned and dragged himself out of bed, swallowing hard to keep his stomach down. There was no sense hiding away in his room; the sooner he got this over with the better.

* * *

Hiro made his way down the stairs as Baymax hobbled along behind him. He entered the kitchen and then stopped in his tracks. Varian sat at the end of the table nursing his head in his hands as he brooded over a cup of coffee. 

Hiro didn't know what to say or do. He didn't want to start another argument and he really didn't want Varian to run off again. So he just ignored the other teen as he went about fixing himself some breakfast.

Hiro felt like he was walking on eggshells as he scurried about. He kept casting wary glances back at the other boy as he poured himself a bowl of cereal, but Varian didn't move nor acknowledge that Hiro was even there. 

"You are suffering from dehydration due to the consumption of alcohol." Baymax interrupted the silence. "This is sometimes known as a hangover." 

Hiro's eyes widened as he feared another outburst from Varian, but the time displaced teen only gave Baymax annoyed glare but said nothing. So the robot continued, "A glass of water would be more helpful than coffee. Caffeine can increase blood pressure and worsen your headache." 

Still the gloomy teen said nothing nor did he make any moves to replace his cup of joe with the more beneficial water. In fact the only indication that Varian had even heard Baymax, was that he looked the robot dead in the eye as he lifted the steaming cup to his lips and took a sip. 

Hiro gave an exasperated sigh, sat his bowl of milk and cheerios down, and went to fill a glass of water himself; forcefully setting it down next to Varian, who raised an eyebrow, but still remained silent. Then Hiro recovered his morning meal and sat at the other end of the table to eat. 

Several minutes passed while neither boy said anything, and Hiro began to wonder what was even the point in trying. Varian seemed determined to self destruct. No matter how often they tried to help, no matter how seemingly well things got for awhile, no matter how many times Varian would apologize for screwing up, it all came right back around to yet another mishap, another poor decision, another fight. 

Hiro tried not to judge too harshly, honest he did, he was no saint himself after all, but the whole thing was becoming tiresome. Then there were the times where Varian wasn't even sorry.

The incident with Momasake's knife sprung to his mind unbidden, along with the ninja's warning words. "People like that don't ever change." 

No. Hiro refused to believe that. He himself had changed for the better, so could other people, so too could Varian. He just needed someone to be there for him. 

"You were right." Varian's voice broke through his thoughts, startling him. 

Hiro looked at the other teen in surprise as Varian pressed on. 

"I thought that I could handle things, but turns out I'm just a mess no matter what I do." Varian gave a pout and kept his eyes downcast. 

Hiro didn't know what to say to that. He felt like he should give some sort of encouragement, some reassurance that Varian wasn't a mess, but that somehow felt hollow and Varian would know it. 

Baymax however did have something to say. "Many adolescents struggle with low self-esteem. Positive reinforcement can help combat this. Try replacing negative thoughts about yourself with compliments instead." 

Varian eyed the robot skeptically and even Hiro had to admit he couldn't see that helping all that much in this situation. 

"Like what kind of compliments?" Varian asked. 

"Recognise your strengths. Varian, you are very smart. You are talented. You are courageous and kind. You have many friends and loved ones who care about you and wish to see you get better." 

"Friends?" Varian shot back bitterly and then with tears in his eyes, added, "Not after last night, I'm sure." 

"No." Hiro firmly rebutted, "We're still your friends. It's just like Baymax said, we only want for you to get better. Alcohol's just not the right way to cope with what's happened to you." 

Varian searched the other teen's eyes, debating on whether or not to believe Hiro's words. He opened his mouth to say something, but then Aunt Cass walked into the kitchen ending the discussion. 

She gave the boys a wide smile and kissed Hiro on top of his head. "Good morning! Excited for today?" 

Without waiting for an answer, she walked over to the counter and poured herself a cup of the coffee Varian had made. "I thought we could close up shop early today after the morning rush. That way we'd have more time for our family outing. We could go to the park and go bike riding before the movie." She took a sip and walked over to Varian and tenderly ran her fingers through his hair. "How does that sound?" She asked them. 

The boys exchanged looks and Varian came to a decision. He swallowed hard, "Aunt Cass… I have something to tell you…about last night."

* * *

Varian finished recounting the events of the past two days to Aunt Cass. Though he conveniently left out some details involving his arguments with Hiro and the rest of their friends; mainly anything to do with superheroing. 

He knew Hiro would appreciate this. The other teen had been sent out of the room by Aunt Cass earlier, but they both knew he was most likely sitting at the bottom of the stairwell listening in anyways. 

That didn't seem to matter so much in light of his confession though. Aunt Cass looked on shocked and horrified while Varian told her of the club and the drinking games, only interrupting to ask a clarifying question now and then. Once done with his tale, they sat in uncomfortable silence as Aunt Cass tried to process what was happening. 

Suddenly she shouted; "Oh God, I'm an idiot!" Startling Varian, as she got up to pace. 

"Of course it was a college party! What was I thinking? "Painting party" Pff… And not just _any_ college party, noooo, but a _frat_ party. You were in college once, you know what those are like. And it never once occurred to you that your sixteen year old might want to crash one of those? Of course he would! _You_ _would_! At sixteen you snuck into a rave!" 

She paused in her rant to look out into the middle distance as she contemplated what she had just said. 

"How did I wind up being the parent again!?" She yelled to no one in particular before slumping back down in her seat and cradling her head in her hands. 

Varian was simply confused by this outburst. He didn't know what a 'rave' was, nor why Aunt Cass would be ashamed of going to one. Also it was his fault for lying and getting drunk, not hers. 

Aunt Cass inhaled deeply and moved her hands to cup her mouth and then exhaled slowly as she folded them into fists to rest her chin upon. 

"You said Baymax checked you over?" She asked. Varian nodded. "You're not hurt then?" He shook his head. 

"Good," she said shakely, "That's good…. Then just what the heck were you thinking!?" She rounded on him. 

He recoiled under her glare. Varian still hadn't gotten used to Aunt Cass's stressful mood swings anymore than her lectures. His lip quivered and fresh tears threatened to spill from his eyes but he couldn't formulate the words he needed to. He couldn't explain to her what it was like being the odd man out, a stranger in another world, an outcast from society with a shameful past; to never truly fit in no matter what you did. 

"Don't you know you could have gotten hurt!?" She continued,"Didn't you stop to think even just a little that maybe sneaking into a nightclub and downing six shots of tequila might be dangerous?" 

"I..I didn't know how strong tequila was." He protested in his defense. "I can normally down a couple beers no problem." 

"Wait…This isn't your first time drinking?" 

"Well no. Everyone drinks in Corona, it's just not a big deal there. It's like drinking a can of soda." 

Aunt Cass eyes darted back and forth in confusion as she realized once again she had taken in a child from another country, another culture, and he wasn't just like Hiro or Tadashi. But she wasn't yet ready to concede the argument. She didn't want Varian thinking it was okay to do this a second time. 

"And did you sneak into clubs there too!?" She asked incredulously. 

"We don't have those." Varian exasperated. He was starting to become irritated once more. He got up from where he sat and leaned over the table at her. "Look, I get it! I screwed up! Just like always! I promise I won't do it again and I don't need you to remind me that I'm a failure, okay!?" 

Varian paused mid-rant as he realized what he had just said. Both he and Aunt Cass exchanged surprised looks before he snapped his jaw shut and fell back into his seat, hugging himself as he was no longer able to hold back the tears. 

"Varian…" Aunt Cass softly said as she reached her hand out to him, but he jerked away. 

"I know.. that I'm...I'm all messed up." He heavied through sobs. "Okay? I _know_. And I know you're just trying to help. But..but I just … I just wanted to fit in for once, and not be the freak, or the villian, or the poor little orphan that nobody really wants…" He sniffled and wiped his runny nose. He no doubt looked every bit the mess that he felt he was, but at this point he no longer cared. "I'm the person that everyone either pitys, or hates... or even fears. I'm never allowed to be just normal, and no matter what I do, I just keep getting reminded over and over again that I don't belong! Not anywhere! Not here, not Corona, not with the Saporians...I...I…I just want my dad. That's all I want." he broke down crying again. 

Aunt Cass was crying too. 

"I'm sorry." She whispered. 

Varian blinked at her in confusion. Why was she sorry? What had she done wrong? He was the one who was broken, not her. 

"I was so sure that things were getting better..." she went on,"No. I _wanted_ things to be better, that I didn't pay enough attention to the warning signs. I should have known what kind of party you were going to, and I should have realized sooner that you weren't happy here. I let you down, and I'm sorry." She sighed, shook her head, and flung open her arms wide in a shrug. "I...I don't know what I'm doing any more than you do. Parenting is just playing things by ear and winging it half the time. Especially since, well, every child is different, and what worked for Hiro and Tadashi might not work for you. But I don't think you're a failure, or a mess; I think you're just a teenager, and you're not the only teenager in the world to crash a party and get drunk, believe me. Look, I don't care if you made a mistake, I care about you being safe and that you know not to do it again." She reached out to him again and cupped his face, and this time he didn't pull away as she wiped his tears. "Varian, I know it's difficult having your life uprooted and that you miss your dad, but I want you to know you _are_ wanted. Okay? We all care about you. I _care_ about you. You're my child and I'm never giving up on you, not _ever_." 

She was inches from his face as she said this. Her hazel eyes search his own, looking for a sign that she had gotten through to him. He screwed his eyes shut as he tried to hold back the fresh tears that came for a now completely different reason. He sobbed, leaned forward, and pressed his forehead against hers. She wrapped him in a tight hug.

"Aunt Cass?" Varian asked over her shoulder, once he felt he could talk again. "I'm sorry. I mean it. I won't drink again. I promise." 

She broke their hug only to give him a smile. "I know." 

"You..you do?" 

"Varian, you're a good kid, and you care about people. I know you don't want to scare anybody and that you didn't mean any harm...and I don't want to make you feel like you ever have to hide that you're upset about something. Come and tell me if something's wrong, or if something is bothering you. I'll listen. I promise." 

"P..promise?" He looked at her questionly, hesitant to trust another adult again. 

"Promise." 

"Then..then can I not get any more lectures?" He blurted out. "I know when I did something wrong, I don't need to hear it repeated back to me." 

Aunt Cass frowned and tilted her head, "Then... what do you suggest?" She asked slowly. 

"I...I don't know." He hung his head. "I just feel like I'm being put on trial all over again. That was the worst." He added under his breath.

Aunt Cass blinked as it dawned on her what the real problem was. "Oookaay… I'll try and keep that in mind in the future. How about for now… you're grounded for a week. How's that?" 

"Grounded? That's when you don't leave the house, right?" 

"Sort of, you'll still go to school, but no more parties. I would also add extra chores, but you tend to do those anyways without me even asking." 

Varian smiled for the first time that day. "Does that mean no family outing?" He teased. 

Aunt Cass laughed, "Yeah, you're not getting out that easily. You're a part of this family now, and don't ever forget it." She kissed his forehead and stood up."Now go shower and get ready for the day, and let Hiro know we'll be leaving soon. I think a day off will do everybody some good."

* * *

Varian trudged up the steps of the sorority house. He made it to the front door and then cast a concerned glance back towards the car. 

He had told Aunt Cass that he wanted to come clean to Carol about last night. His aunt agreed that that would be best and so had driven him out to the SFAI campus.

However that didn't stop his stomach from tying itself up in knots. The pretty girl probably wouldn't want anything to do with him once she knew the truth. Yet he took a deep breath and rang the doorbell anyways. 

He heard footsteps barreling through the house and a familiar voice yelling "I'll get it!". The door flung open wide and there stood Carol, out of breath but with a huge grin on her face. She was clearly glad to see him, though for how long Varian didn't know. 

"Oh hey, Varian! I didn't expect to see you today." She subconsciously patted the side of her head. She had her usual curls wrapped up in a scarf, and had been in the middle of some sort of hair care treatment that she dropped once he had arrived. "You..you wanna come in?" She offered. 

"I'm afraid I can't." He declined. "I'm with my aunt right now and we're about to go on that 'family outing' I told you about." He pointed back to the car, and Carol's smile only became wider as she waved to its occupants. 

"Is the other kid your little brother or cousin?" She asked in her usual friendly manner. 

"Uuuuh… sort...of..." Varian didn't have an answer on hand that didn't require a long explanation, so he hurried onto the reason why he was here. "It's a long story, but that's not why I'm here. " He took another steading breath and looked her firmly in the eye. "Carol, I haven't been honest with you, and I'm sorry." 

Her smile promptly fell away from her face. "You mean you lied to me? About what?" 

"I shouldn't have been at that club. I'm only sixteen." 

Carol blinked in confusion. "You mean you're still in high school?" 

"Well no; I really am in college and I did just move here from Europe. That's all true, it's just, I got admitted into SFIT early." 

Carol made a face as if disgusted by the truth. "You mean I've been hitting on a sixteen year old this whole time?"

Now it was Varian's turn to be confused. "You never struck me?" 

"No, 'hitting on', it means flirting." 

Varian's spirit picked up, "You mean you were flirting with me?" 

"Well now I'm not." She said incredulously and Varian's face fell as his hopes were dashed. 

"That..that's fair." He nodded his head and started to walk away. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I just didn't think it was a big deal at first, and by the time that it was, well, I just …. I'm sorry." 

"Wait." Carol called out. He stopped and watched her as she struggled to find the words she was looking for. "Look...I can't get too mad at you. You ain't the only person that snuck in that club last night." 

Varian began to regain hope and walked back over to her as she continued. "Mind you, I just turned nineteen so that's a bit different than being the same age as an eleventh grader, but it's... still not on the up and up. Also if I've gotten a chance at your age to crash a college party I would have, no questions asked, hands down." 

She gave him a small sheepish smile and he returned it. Then he rubbed the back of his head as he steeled his courage to ask her another question. 

"I.. I won't be able to go clubbing or attend another frat party again anytime soon, and I know you probably don't want to date after what just happened, but...would you still like to be friends?" 

Carol tilted her head and studied him a moment thoughtfully. "Friends? You mean like the kind that you can call on for help or just to talk to sometimes?" She asked, recalling their conversation from last night. 

"Yeah, and maybe hang out once in a while; just no alcohol this time. I made a promise to Aunt Cass." He gave an awkward laugh and Carol couldn't suppress her smile. 

"Yeah, friends sound nice." She agreed and they shook hands before parting.

* * *

Monday morning rolled around and Varian stood outside the communal lab waiting. His palms were sweaty and he couldn't stop himself from shaking nervously. 

Hiro had gathered everyone together to hear Varian's apology, but Varian feared it wouldn't be enough. The sight of everyone walking away from him replayed in his mind over and over again. Why should they forgive him? He had made an ass out of himself once again and worse he had hurt Gogo. He hadn't meant to, but that didn't change the fact that he did. They had given him so many chances already and there was no reason for them to keep on giving him more. 

He gulped as Hiro opened the door to let him in. The rest of the gang sat in a semi-circle waiting to hear what Varian had to say. Only he didn't have any words. He opened his mouth to say, 'I'm sorry,' but nothing came out. So he clamped his jaw shut and fought back his tears as he cast his eyes down to the ground. 

"Hiro says you told Aunt Cass what happened." Wasabi said. His arms were crossed and his voice was serious but he didn't launch into an angry rant at least. 

Varian nodded his head yes. 

"And did you promise her not to go out drinking again?" Wasabi pressed. 

Varian nodded again. 

"Good." Came his reply and he walked over to Varian and pointed his finger in his face. "Cause if I catch my best friend doing something so stupid again, I'm going to have to have a nervous breakdown and your going to have to be the one to hold the paper bag that breath into, okay." He then flashed Varian a grin to show that he was only half way joking. 

Varian gave him a half smile, half pout. "I'm sorry," he sobbed as Wasabi laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. 

"Hey we're just glad you're safe." Fred said as he made his way over to give Varian a hug. 

Honey Lemon got up and did the same. "Promise us you won't do something so dangerous again." 

If she had asked for the moon with such pleading eyes, Varian would have started building a rocket right then and there. Yet, he knew that he would never be able to keep such an oath; given what a disaster he was. He swallowed hard and tried to come up with an easier promise. "I promise; no more dance clubs, no more drinking, and no more lying about my age." 

This seemed to placate her and everyone else in the room, save for Gogo. While everyone was gathered around he looked over their shoulders to see her still glaring at him. He gently pushed past Honey Lemon and stepped towards the other girl. 

"Gogo..I'm…" He made to say sorry, but she interrupted him by holding her hand up. Gogo then stood up, gave him a shake of her head and another disapproving look, before walking out the door. 

Varian felt his heart shatter on the floor as the door firmly slammed shut.

* * *

Varian felt riddled with anxiety all day. He barely was able to concentrate on his calculus quiz and his class in applied computer science was a blur. He couldn't focus on his portal either. Guilt pricked his mind and he knew he wouldn't be able to get anything done until he tried to mend things with Gogo once more. 

He found her in the welding workshop. She was busy soldering the joints of a bicycle together. He walked up to her, careful not to get in the way of sparks flying off the blow torch, and patiently waited for her to finish or come to a stopping point. 

However, Gogo only seemed determined to ignore him. Once done with her welding, she flung up the flap of protective visor, turned on her heel, and deliberately walked over to the tool station to find another piece of equipment. She then made a show of her search, refusing to spare Varian even a glance. 

Varian didn't blame her for being angry, nor did he believe she would forgive him at this point, but she deserved to hear a full apology from him and he was determined to give it. 

"Gogo?" Failing to get her attention he pressed on anyways. "Gogo, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you, and I'm sorry that I broke my promise; but most of all I'm sorry that I hurt you. I didn't mean to. It was an accident, but I still did it and I.. I'll understand if sorry isn't enough...I just wanted to let you know that I am." 

Gogo paused and in what she was doing but she still wouldn't turn around or look at him. He waited a few moments more for a response before tearing himself away. However he stopped at the door at the sound of Gogo's voice. 

"You think that's why I'm mad?" She asked quietly. 

"Well, isn't?" Varian was confused. He thought he had covered all that he did wrong in his apology. What had he missed? 

Gogo tore off the visor she wore and threw on the table. She then gave a long frustrated sigh as she ran both her hands through her hair before cradling the nape of her neck in her hands and giving an exasperated look towards the ceiling. Then she dropped her arms and finally turned around to face him. 

"First, there was the flood in the communal lab. Then you got arrested for 'bot fighting and ran away. Not to mention that you decided to just walk into the middle of the desert with no thought as to how that might not end well. Oh and let's talk about how you tried to fight a highly trained assassin with nothing but a frying pan!" 

"B-baking pan." Varian nervously corrected and then he joked, "A frying pan may have stood a better change of workin-…." 

The enraged look on Gogo's face put an end to his attempts at levity. He then cringed as she started in on him again.

"And there you were sneaking into a nightclub with a bunch of strangers and making yourself sick with alcohol. It's like you don't stop to think. You're so damn sure of yourself all the time that you never consider how things can go wrong, how you could get hurt." She blinked back tears. "I already lost someone once because they wouldn't stop. I.. I don't want to lose anybody else." 

Varian's breath stilled as he realized who Gogo was really talking about. She hugged herself as the tears came unbidden. 

"You..you don't know what it's like to get left behind, do you?" She asked. "It hurts to see someone you care about rush head first into something dangerous, okay, and you have people who care about you now. This isn't Corona, you're not alone any more, but that also means you need to think about them too before you go off and do something stupid!" 

She sobbed and slumped to the ground to cry. 

It was disconcerting to see the normally composed Gogo break down into tears. It was even more upsetting to know that he was the cause of them. Well, not just him, but him and Tadashi rather, and not for the first time Varian felt as if he was living under the deceased teen's shadow. 

He sighed and walked over to the girl and sat down beside her. He didn't know what to say or do to make things better so he just remained by her side as she cried. 

After a time she choked back her tears and said, "You're not ever going to stop, are you." It was a statement not a question. 

"I don't know _how_ to stop." He despaired. 

She hugged herself once more and refused to look him in the eyes. 

"Look you're right, I don't think about what may happen to me when I do things." He confessed, "But it's not because I don't care about everyone else; it's just… I guess… I'm just not used to having people looking out for me, and I don't know how to handle that sometimes. I was always either the one fighting on my own or the one looking out for others, and half the time I'm afraid everyone is going to figure out what a disaster I am and leave." It was now his turn to choke back sobs. "Leave me all alone just like before, just like everyone else has done.. I..." 

Gogo finally looked at him and pouted. Then she sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder. 

"Well, good thing we knew you were a disaster the moment you tried to smoke bomb the cops then." She gently teased. 

Varian couldn't help but snicker while blinking back his tears and he too leaned his head against her own. 

"Soooo...are we...are we still friends then?" He asked. 

"Of course we are, you idiot." She replied in exasperation and snuggled closer. "And don't you ever forget it, cause next time you do something dumb like that I'm kicking your butt." 

Varian nodded his head, "Yeah, sounds fair." And they both broke down laughing. 


	30. Coffee and Chemicals

"Ummm...what's Honey Lemon doing?" Fred asked as the gang made their way across the quad. 

Their friend wasn't with them but stood off to the side looking up at a large shady elm through half lidded eyes. 

"Hello, professor oak, I finished my…"she gave a prodigious yawn before sleepily continuing on "...report… on… color… theory..." Another yawn escaped her lips. 

"Is she talking to a tree?" Wasabi asked with concern. 

"She's been hit hard by midterms," Gogo explained, "three exams in one day, plus two more tomorrow, four final projects due Friday, and she just got a large order of her cosmetics that's due to ship this weekend. She's been pulling all nighters for the past three days." 

As if to confirm this explanation the group heard a loud snore come from Honey Lemon's way. She wobbled as her head drooped down on her chest and Gogo skated over to her in a rush and caught the tall girl in her arms before she fell unconscious. 

"Do you need help?" Varian asked as the rest of the gang followed after. 

"Nope" Gogo grunted as she dragged Honey Lemon's limp body towards the doors. Wasabi ignored her and picked up Honey Lemon's legs so that they could better carry her inside. Varian rushed ahead to open the door for them. 

"Man and I thought I had it bad." Kamri committed as they walked into the student lounge. 

"Yeah, Honey Lemon is a double major at two schools." Hiro explained. "By the looks of it she must be stretching herself too thin." 

Fred ran to snag a few chairs and put them together to form a makeshift bed as Gogo and Wasabi gently laid Honey Lemon down. 

"Got... isotope project due…Friday.." Honey Lemon hummed in her sleep before letting out another snore. 

"I'll go get her a coffee." Varian offered helpfully as he walked to the barista that was housed inside the lounge. 

"Honey Lemon?" Gogo gently asked as she gave her friend a firm shake, but no response came other than more snoring. 

"Face it, she's dead to the world." Wasabi commented. 

"Here try this." Varian walked over carrying an espresso and handed it to Gogo.

Karmi rolled her eyes, "You think caffeine is the answer for everything. Remember the red bull incident?" 

"Hey, that was a scientific experiment!" Varian indignantly defended himself, "Theoretically the Nyquil should have canceled out the energy drink…" 

"And what's your excuse for eating the coffee beans straight out of the bag?" Hiro asked. 

"I don't eat them straight out of the bag," Varian dismissed, "I roast them first." 

"Ooo, have you tried the ones covered in chocolate?" Fred added, "Those are good." 

"Both of you have a caffeine addiction. That much coffee isn't good for you." Wasabi warned.

"Well either way looks like the smell of the coffee is working" Gogo interrupted as she nudged Honey Lemon awake. 

Honey Lemon hummed as she sat up and followed the coffee cup with her nose. She slowly blinked her eyes open before snagging the cup out of Gogo's hands, downing it in one gulp, and then yawning as she fell back asleep. 

Hiro however caught her head before she could finish laying back down, "Sorry, Honey Lemon but we gotta keep you awake." 

"Yeah you got an exam in fifteen minutes." Gogo reminded her. 

"Nooooo" Honey Lemon moaned and tried to turn around on her side to curl up and sleep. 

Wasabi stopped her this time and helped to lift her back up to her feet. 

"You better go get another coffee." Karmi whispered to Varian. 

"Told you." He whispered back before making his way back to the counter.

* * *

Keeping Honey Lemon awake throughout the day was no easy task. She kept dozing off during her exams, labs, and even lunch. The rest of the gang had to stay with her during the school day to nudge her awake or coax her with coffee. 

Once school was done however, she refused to go home and go to bed; citing she had too much to do. And so that's how she wound up currently inside Hamada home studying for her chemistry midterm. 

She had asked Varian to help her since he was the only one who held the same interest in the subject. He was only too happy to oblige, but it was proving to be a difficult task. Honey Lemon couldn't focus and would stare dreamily off into the distance instead of answering the questions he would give her. 

"Silver has two naturally occurring isotopes, 107Ag is at 106.9 amu and 109 Ag at 108.9 amu, therefore what is the average atomic mass of silver?" Varian read off the practice test. 

"Hmmm?" Honey Lemon hummed questioningly. 

They were sitting on the couch in the living room, textbooks splayed out upon the coffee table in front of them. Honey Lemon's elbows rested on her knees and her chin was cradled in her fists. She looked at him as if only just noticing he was even there. 

"Come on, this an easy one." Varian coaxed, "What's the atomic mass of silver?" 

"Oh!"She exclaimed as what was being asked of her finally dawned in her brian. She then yawned and said, "107.9 amu." 

"Correct; now which of the following is _not_ a homogeneous mixture?" He continued with the quiz. "Air? Copper? Brass? Or-" 

"Does everyone have blue hair where you come from?" Honey Lemon innocently interrupted. 

Varian suddenly froze as if he'd been hit by a truck. He slowly turned to look at the other teen and saw her eyeing him curiously through heavy eyelids. He gulped and tried to brush off the question. 

"Ah..well…not really.." 

"Cause your stripe never fades like say a dye job would." She explained; oblivious to his discomfort in her sleepy haze. 

"Umm well… I've always just had it...I think it's from an alchemy accident...or something…" 

"No... that can be it..." She shook her head in confusion, "If you had just spilled a chemical on it, it would have eventually just grown out." Now with her curiosity piked, she began to perk up and unthinkingly reached her hand up to run it through his hair. "You mean it just grows out blue, and only one strand? That's got to be like a genetic thing..." 

Varian tried to pull away; his cheeks burning red. How he hated being reminded that didn't fit in, not even in his own world. Honey Lemon was still oblivious however. 

"Do you have anyone in your family with blue hair as well?" She pressed, trying to figure out this new mystery. 

"I don't know!" He snapped. 

Everything went quiet. Honey Lemon lifted her hand away and looked at him with wide eyes. She had seen his temper before, but this was the first he had ever gotten mad at her. She didn't know what to do, and neither did Varian. 

He hadn't meant to yell at her, and frightening her, of all people, was the last thing in the world that he'd ever want to do. But talk of his past always sent him into a panic and not knowing the answer to something threw him off balance. The fact that the mystery was himself only heightened his concern, which is why he prefered to ignore it. 

"I'm sorry." They both stammered out at the same time. They stopped in surprise at the unique timing of their apologies and then softly giggled and blushed over how silly they were being; the tension ebbing away as quickly as it had arrived. 

"I..I shouldn't have pried." Honey Lemon said she tugged a strand of her own hair. 

"No..I shouldn't have yelled." Varian countered. "It's just…well...no one likes being different, ya know?" 

"Oh, but everybody's different," Honey Lemon encouraged cheerfully. Varian tried his best not to roll his eyes at such a lame platitude. 

"No, I mean it." She laughed. She then tried to give him a smile but it was soon broken by another yawn. She stretched and then leaned over to rest her head upon his shoulder. 

"I like your hair. It's part of what makes you special." She then hugged his arm and nuzzled her head as she curled up on the couch next to him, putting her feet up on the cushions and using him as a pillow. 

Varian was stunned. She _liked_ his hair? She didn't think him odd or a freak? Varian tried to remember a time when anybody had ever complimented his abnormally. Most would politely ignore it or brush it off, a few would tease, and some would even call it a bad omen. The more superstitious villagers said it was a hex, a clear sign that he was unnatural, and combined with his more unsuccessful alchemy experiments, helped to spread the rumor that he was a dangerous wizard. It was part of the reason why he hated being associated with magic. 

Somewhere in his distant memory he could recall hushed conversations late at night between his parents concerning him. He couldn't remember precisely what had been said, but he knew they were worried about him and his hairstripe. 

Heck even Aunt Cass had been weirded out when he told her he didn't need her to buy any hair dye for him. He probably should have played along then when she asked if needed some, but he hadn't been thinking at the time. She hasn't said anything since, but he knew she hadn't been able to process the idea that his hair just naturally grew out blue. 

His musings were interrupted when he heard a loud snore right next to his ear. 

He looked down to see Honey Lemon fast asleep and snoring away soundly like she normally did when sleeping. He didn't mind though. He supposed it was part of what made her special too. Also she really needed the rest. 

He gently pulled his arm out of her grip and then wrapped it around her waist so she wouldn't fall forward as he reached his other hand over to the coffee table to snag his physics text book. He figured he would study for his own upcoming exam while she slept. Careful not to wake her, he propped his foot up on the table and reasted the book on his knee; using one hand to open it and turn the pages as he cradled the sleeping girl next to him with the other.

* * *

"Honey Lemon? Are you ready to go?" Gogo asked as she and Hiro climbed upstairs. They had agreed to take on patrol duty tonight so everyone else could study. They had finished up early and now Gogo had come to pick up Honey Lemon so that they could head home. 

They found her and Varian both asleep on the couch. He had a textbook covering his eyes as he used the seat's arm as a pillow on one end and stretched his feet out to the other, with one foot dangling off the edge. Honey Lemon was sprawled out on top of him while she rested her head upon his stomach. "The answer is copper…" she mumbled in her sleep and then hugged his waist tighter like she would a pillow. 

"Cute." Gogo said deadpan and then she raised an eyebrow at Hiro. "Should we wake them?" 

Hiro gave her a wicked grin and signaled for her to stay quiet while he ran upstairs to his room. He re-emerged moments later with a megaphone in his hand. 

"Where did you get that?" She asked. 

"Did Tadashi ever tell you about the time he was a cheerleader in high school?" He whispered back. "He said it was to meet girls." He explained to a now clearly confused Gogo. 

Hiro didn't give her time to process this new information however as he placed the microphone to his lips and bent down till he was right at Varian's ear. 

"Good Morning!" He yelled. "Wakey, wakey! Time to rise and shine!" 

Varian bolted upright, knocking the textbook to the floor and doing more to wake up Honey Lemon than any megaphone could. 

"Hun?" She blinked sleepily while Gogo tried to suppress her snickering. 

Varian glared at her and Hiro, but the face he made only filled them both with more laughter. 

"What was that for!?" He angrily yelled. 

"You.. you needed to wake up." Hiro explained through his laughter,"also next time don't leave your smelly socks and shoes in the garage. I gotta work in there, ya know." 

If looks could have killed, Hiro would have been dead from Varian's gaze alone. He would have lunged at the other boy had Honey Lemon not held him back. 

"Look, that was funny but you shouldn't have done it." Gogo interceded. 

Hiro mumbled an apology and, he and Varian gave a half hearted handshake to appease the two girls.

"Good. Anyways Honey Lemon and I need to get home, so see ya tomorrow." She waved goodbye and headed down stairs. 

Honey Lemon gathered her things up and followed after her, yawning goodbye as she went. 

Once they were both gone and out of earshot Varian spoke up, 

"Thanks for running the moment." He said irritably. 

"What moment? You two were out cold." Hiro snarked back and then he paused as the meaning behind Varian's words came to light, "Waait...You and Honey Lemon?" He couldn't stifle his laughter. "You have a crush on Honey Lemon." 

"What of it?" Came Varian's offended reply.

"Dude, she's so out of your league." 

"She is not!" 

"She's two years older than you and one of the more popular girls at both ours and SFAI's campus. What makes you think you even have a chance?" 

"So? That's the same age difference between you and Karmi." 

"Wh..what does Karmi have to do with this?" Hiro asked. He was momentarily tripped up by the change in subject. 

"Oh come on." Varian rolled his eyes. "Everyone knows you like Karmi." 

"I do not!" 

"Do to." 

"Do not...look for your information I happen to like Megan, okay?" 

"Ahhh…" Varian raised an eyebrow and gave a sly smile, "So does either girl know you're cheating on them?" He teased.

"I'm not- we're not...I'm not dating either one of them... yet!" Hiro flustered. "Look it's none of your business!" 

"Then stay out of mine." Varian retorted. 

"Fine!"

"Fine." 

"F-fine." 

"Fi-- " Varian stopped, "How long are we going to keep saying 'fine' at one another?" 

Hiro shrugged. "Look, I'm sorry for the megaphone gag. That was kind of mean and I promise I won't interrupt your 'it's totally not a date and your dreaming if you think it is' study sessions with Honey Lemon again. Deal?" 

"Okay, and I'll make sure to throw my socks in the laundry next time and, I promise not to tell either Karmi or Megan that you like them. I wanna be around when it blows up in your face though." He gave another smug smile and Hiro rolled his eyes. 

"Whatever." He dismissed and headed upstairs to bed while Varian picked up his textbooks.

* * *

Varian passed by the chemistry lab on his way to lunch. He paused when he heard a loud snore coming from the room. He stopped and saw Honey Lemon alone in the room with her head on the desk. 

"Honey Lemon? You..okay?" He asked as he walked over to her and gave her a light tap on her shoulder. 

She must not have been asleep long for she jumped at the touch and jolted awake.

"Oh? Oh, Varian! Hiiiiaahh!" Her hello turned into a yawn and Varian gave her a worried frown. 

"Did you not get any sleep last night?" He asked. 

"Oh sure…. Sure I did. Right after I finished my still life drawing for tomorrow." She mumbled quietly

Varian raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "Which was how many hours exactly?" 

"The drawing or sleep?" She asked. 

"You know what I meant." 

Honey Lemon rolled her eyes and tried to dismiss his concerns. "I'm fiiine. It's only one more day till Friday and then I can take a long nap on Saturday. Besides I got to finnish making up these mini chimballs for my project." 

She gave another yawn and groped around absentmindedly for the vial of chemical solution that she needed. " I just need to add this potassium iodine and…" 

She picked up one of the vials and made to pour into the solution that she had bubbling in a beaker over a Bunsen burner, not really paying attention to nor looking at what she had actually grabbed. 

Varian's eyes went wide as he noticed the label on the vial she was holding.

"Honey Lemon wait! No! That's octane!" He shouted, but he was too late. 

The contents of the beaker began to rapidly bubble and foam as sparks from the flame ignited with flammable liquid that had just been added. 

Varian reacted quickly, grabbing a stunned Honey Lemon by the wrist and quickly pulling her away. He sprinted out of the lab, dragging her along, as the foaming substance grew larger and swallowed the desk, now mixing itself with the other assortment of chemicals and causing small explosions. Once outside of the doorway he instinctively flung both himself and Honey Lemon to the ground as he felt a rumble behind them. He tried his best to shield her as the now gloopy substance expanded and filled the room with a sloshing, slurpy sound. 

Only after a few moments of quiet, where nothing further happened, did Varian roll off of Honey Lemon and hoisted himself on his elbows to see the damage. Bulging out from the doorway was a semi-solid wall of some sort of gelatin like substance, that still steamed and bubbled from the heat of the earlier explosions. 

The greenish-yellow tint of the partly translucent substance made Varian sick to his stomach. Had they been caught in that they no doubt would have been smothered or burned by the deadly goop. He heard his heart pound in his ears as it occurred to him that this was the second time he had managed to avoid such a fate. 

He heard a sob beside him and turned to see Honey Lemon crying. Now his heart pounded for different reason as he hastily began to check over the girl looking to see how she'd been hurt. 

"Honey Lemon? Are.. Are you okay? Are you hurt? Do I need to call Baymax?" 

"No." She choked.

He swiped a strand of her hair out of her eyes and gently turned her head towards him. He searched her face in worry. "Then what's wrong?" 

"I..I blew up the chim lab...again. I thought I could handle two majors but...but I can't…argh...I just want to crawl under the covers and never come out." She buried her face in her hands and groaned. 

In spite of himself, relief washed over Varian as it became evident that the only thing that was seriously harmed was Honey Lemon's pride. Though he took no joy out of seeing her upset either. 

"Awww Honey, it's okay." He whispered as he gently squeezed her shoulders. "You're just stressed from midterms. Like you said, things will look better by Saturday." 

This did not seem to appease her though as she continued to cry into her hands. Varian racked his brain on what he could do or say to make things better. Hesitantly you wrapped her into a hug and she returned it with a sob. 

"Oh, Honey Lemon," He encouraged in her ear. ",its gonna be alright. Hey at least no one was hurt right?" 

He pulled away from the embrace to give her a small smile but she only returned it with a pout. 

Varian sighed, "Look, you're talking to the guy who almost flooded the school remember? This ain't nothing." 

That got him a snort of laughter and he flashed her a grin. 

"Yeah, I remember." She nodded and finally smiled through her tears. 

They locked eyes and for a moment Varian didn't know what to do. All he could do was stare at her transfixed. 

Honey Lemon broke the spell herself, "I guess I need to call and tell the chemistry professor what happened" she sighed. "Maybe he'll give me an extension." 

That knocked Varian out of his stupor. "Yea...yeah, of course he will, and in the meantime I'll help you clean up, okay?" 

"Okay." She smiled as he helped her up.

* * *

Cleaning up wasn't as difficult as Varian first feared. The gel like compound naturally broke down over time and washed away easily with water. Though it still took a couple of hours to get it all clear. 

Honey Lemon hadn't said much during this time, still embarrassed and tired. As they came down to the last bit of the work, Varian tried to ease the tension. 

"Ya know," He said nonchalantly as he mopped the floor,"after a close call like that a person could probably use a stiff drink." 

He meant it as a joke but Honey Lemon only stiffened and stopped wiping down the countertop to give him a worried frown. 

"....of coffee!" He hastily added. "How about we get some after we finish up here?" 

He threw her one of his winsome smiles and Honey Lemon relaxed a little. 

"Aren't you still grounded?" She asked. 

"Yes, but school doesn't count and there's the cafe in the student lounge." He gave her a wink. "So technically, it's still not breaking the rules." 

She smirked and shook her head, "You know you can't find loopholes for everything." 

"No, but can't blame me for trying." He sat the mop to the side and grabbed the rag Honey Lemon was using. "What'dya say, hmm?"

"Well, I need something to keep me awake for my last class." She agreed and Varian felt like he'd just won the lottery.

* * *

Varian and Honey Lemon sat together inside the student lounge laughing over nothing in particular. She had cheered up significantly since the incident in the lab and was back to her usual perky self. 

At the moment they were having a discussion over which was worse, being too short or too tall. 

"But you've never had anyone call you a giraffe before" she good naturedly countered before taking a sip of her iced latte. 

"What's wrong with that? Giraffes are cute." Varian shrugged. "At least you don't risk getting accidently stepped on in a crowd." 

Honey Lemon rolled her eyes and snickered, "I think you're exaggerating just a little on that one." 

"Maybe" He conceded and took a sip of his own coffee, "but it's no fun being told to get out of the way cause no one thinks you're big enough to help; like when they were raising a new barn a few years ago dad just told me to stay out of the way." 

"When was this? When you were what thirteen?" 

"Twelve." 

"Surely you've grown a little taller since then." 

"Barely." Varian groaned and took another sip of his drink to hide his embarrassment. 

"Well, a least you're not constantly being asked to get things off the high shelves and stuff. Everyone in art class does that and it drives me nuts" She complained. 

"Really? Cause if I suddenly woke up taller one day I'd be volunteering to get stuff off high places just to show off." 

"I mean, you might. Guys don't stop growing until their like in their late teens or early twenties. Me, I'll never stop being the 'tall girl.'" She made a face, showing her displeasure over the nickname, and reached across the table to the basket of biscotti that they had agreed to share. 

As she grabbed one of the Italian sweets she heard Varian say with a shrug, "Ah, you're not even that tall." 

She paused mid reach to look at him in surprise and he just stared at her blankly wondering what he had said wrong. 

"Thank you!" She blurted out loudly. "OMG, I'm always having to say that! I'm only 5'10". My shoes just make me look taller." She lifted a foot to show off her heels to Varian. 

"Then why wear them?" He asked, confused. 

"Cause they look cute." Honey Lemon pouted. 

Varian shrugged again."Okay…..But no, 5'10", that's like normal height. You're no taller than say Queen Arianna is. You want tall? You should see my dad. He's close to seven feet, and he's still not even the tallest guy I've ever met. The king's actually taller than him and so a whole bunch of other guys in Corona. Now you know why I hate being so short. I'm not even taller than the _princess_ , okay, and she's like the shortest person I know." 

Then he paused mid rant and cupped his chin in thought,"Well okay, except for Shorty."

"Soooo are women usually tall or short in your world?" She asked, confused herself now as she had no reference for what Varian was talking about.

"Umm..depends on the person I guess. The tallest woman I ever met is my Aunt Adria. She's my dad's sister and about as tall as he is." 

"Wait, you have an aunt?" Honey Lemon asked with concern, "Where's she at? Why didn't she come help you and your dad?" 

"Well I haven't seen her since I was like five. I don't know where she is, and it's not like we have phones to call one another. I just remember her because, well, she's kind of hard to forget. She has white hair, carries a huge sword everywhere, and half her face is tattooed solid red." 

"Hun…I'm guessing she's pretty … unique then?" 

"I guess, all I remember was that she and dad had a big fight over something annnd I never saw her since." 

"That's sad." Honey Lemon mused. 

"How so?" 

"Well she's his sister. I'd hate to have a fight with one of my brothers that's so bad that we'd never talk to one another again." 

"Hmm...I... never really thought about it before. I guess cause I don't have any siblings and none of my aunts or uncles were ever really around to begin with." 

"You have more aunts?" 

"Well no, but I have a couple of uncles that I've never met. After my dad left his home country, he didn't really keep in touch with them." 

"That's sad." She reiterated. 

"Yeah.." He agreed quietly and took another sip of his coffee as thoughts of his dad ran through his mind. His father had kept most of his past hidden from his son. Varian only knew about his extended family because he had stumbled upon his dad's journal amongst his other things in the trunk that had kept hidden in his quarters, along with the mysterious scroll pecice that the King had hunted him down for. 

A lot of secrets had come to light sitting in that dusty room, pouring over the pages filled with his father's words. Answers that only brought up more questions. He still didn't know how to feel about it all. Mostly he was angry that his dad never shared things with him, be they large or small, insignificant or not.

But Honey Lemon's words shone light on a new perspective. How much had leaving hurt? Was it just too painful for his dad to talk about at all, with anyone? Even then he still could have told Varian about the rocks, could have trusted him, and there were still secrets hidden away from him. His mind turned to the note locked away in the amber with his dad and instinctively his free hand balled up into a fist. 

Honey Lemon looked on with worry as she saw the cloud behind Varian's eyes as he brooded over something. He kept so much of himself hidden away from everyone. But the pain it caused him was always evident just underneath the surface. Honey Lemon wasn't sure she even wanted to know, given what little he had opted to share thus far. Corona scared her. How could any place be so hard and so cruel? Still she wanted to be there for him. He was her friend after all. She placed a hand on top of the fist that he rested on the table, snapping him out of his melancholy mood. 

She gave a wide smile and chriped, "You know once midterms are over and you're un- grounded we should all do something fun." 

"Like what?" 

She thought a minute."Hmmm..Oh, I know! How about karaoke?"

"What's that?" 

"It's where you take turns getting up and singing on stage. It's fun." 

"It sounds fun. I'm all for it. But on one condition." 

"What?"

"You get some actual sleep before then." 

"Oookaaayy…" she rolled her eyes in an exaggerated manner and then they both broke down into giggles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a dialogue heavy chapter. I came up with this back when I originally had planned on making this story a comic, but that idea got scraped pretty fast, but the scene needed to stay for story/character purposes


	31. Karaoke Night

Carol propped her feet up on the porch railing and leaned back in her chair. She let out a contented sigh as she reached into the bag of chips to feast upon the salty snacks. 

She was waiting for Varian and his friends from SFIT to arrive. Midterms had just ended and Varian had invited her to come with them to karaoke, knowing how she loved singing. 

Carol didn't really know any of his other friends, though she had met the tall girl, Honey Lemon, a few times, but she was always keen to meet new people and even more keen to party, so she had readily agreed. 

Right now she was killing time and keeping a lookout for the group. Varian mentioned something about a car pool. 

Just then a limo pulled up and parked itself between the two houses that made up the sorority and fraternity. Carol curiously peered over her toes to get a better look at the out of place vehicle.

Out stepped a lanky guy with shoulder length blonde hair and wearing a baggy Kentucky Kaiju t-shirt and knitted beanie. She figured it was one of Brad's snobbish friends come to see him, or perhaps a new prospective student signing up to join the frat. Though he didn't look like the usual preppy rich kids that hung around the frat house. Must be one of those guys who wears things ironically, she thought and rolled her eyes before going back to eating. 

She then almost fell out of her chair when she saw Varian also step out of the limo as well. Her mouth dropped. What other secrets did this kid have? 

She then looked down at the crumbs of potato chips down her shirt; suddenly embarrassed. She ducked and scrambled back into the house while Varian and the other guy exchanged some friendly words.

* * *

Varian walked up the porch steps of the sorority house and knocked on the door. It opened almost immediately. He gave a wide grin upon seeing Carol but before he could say 'hello' her hand shot out, grabbed the front of his shirt, and dragged him inside. 

She slammed the door close and ran to the window to peer out from behind the curtain. 

"Who's that?" She whispered hurriedly as she pointed to the window. 

Confused and now completely knocked off guard Varian walked over to look out to where she was pointing. 

All he saw was Fred standing next to the limo waiting on them. The other teen was singing a made up song about being a superhero under his breath and rocking back and forth on his heels impatiently. 

"Oh that's just Fred. We took his limo because it had more room for everybody than Wasabi's car." Varian explained. 

"His limo?! You didn't tell me you were friends with a millionaire!" She snapped back in a hushed tone, as if she was afraid the other boy could hear them from across the street outside. 

Varian could only blink back bewildered. Why was that a problem? 

Carol rolled her eyes and went back to watching Fred. 

"Does he go to SFIT, too?" She asked, never looking away from the window, "Is he one of those super smart guys?" 

"No, Fred's not in college." 

"Oh, don't tell me; he's in high school." She responded back sarcastically. 

"Umm… no. I think he graduated from homeschool this year." Varian blithely answered. He didn't see how it mattered what school Fred went to or if he went at all. 

Carol tilted her head, "Wait, so is he closer to my age or yours?" 

Varian thought a moment, "Uh, yours... I think he had a birthday just a couple of months back." 

"Soooo he's what.. eighteen then?" 

"Uh yeah, just a year younger than you." Varian scratched head, he still didn't understand Carol's odd behavior. "Look, I'm sure he can answer all these questions himself." Varian walked towards the door as he tried to coax Carol to come along. "Why don't you come on out and meet him-" 

"Is he single?" 

Varian paused mid-sentence and looked at Carol in surprise. The girl hadn't moved away from the window and was still peering through the curtain. 

"Umm...Yeeesss." Where was this going? 

"Is he gay?" Was the next the next question. 

"Uhhhh...."

"Like, he is into girls or boys?" She hastily explained. 

"I, honestly don't know." Varian slowly answered. Who Fred might prefer to date was not anything he had considered before, and not a subject of conversation that had ever come up.

She finally stopped looking out the window and instead looked down at the sweater she currently wore. Then to his surprise she turned on her heel and ran upstairs. 

"Wait! Carol where are you going?" He yelled after her as he followed her upstairs. 

"Everyone's waiting for-" He was interpreted again by a bra to the face as soon as he stopped in front of her room. Followed by a series of other assorted clothes being thrown his way. Dresses, shirts, shoes, were flung in his general direction as Carol blindly tore through her chest of drawers. One particularly floofy dress landed on his head and hung there as he stood momentarily stunned. 

"Ugh! I have nothing to wear!" She shouted in frustration. 

Varian tried to gather his wits again and pulled the dress off the top of his head. "What's wrong with what you got on?" He asked. 

"This thing?" She asked incredulously back. "This ain't impressive. I need something that'll wow him." 

Varian once again looked confused. "Who?" 

"Who? Who do you think?" She rolled her eyes but failed to explain further. She then held up two dresses and asked. "Which do you think is better? The tight black one that's off shoulder, or the fun summery one with the flowers that shows off more leg?" 

Varian darted his eyes back and forth at the two dresses, still utterly lost as to what was happening. 

"Umm.. I'm not a fashion expert."

She sighed with exasperation. "Which do you think Fred will like better?" 

"Fred? Fred's not going to care what you wear." He snorted. 

Carol looked offended, "Oh you don't think a guy like that might be interested in me, hun? He's out of my league just cause I'm not some preppy uptown girl who buys Gucci handbags!" 

"What? No!" Now Varian was even more lost, and not just because he didn't know what a 'gucci handbag' even was." No, I just meant you look good in anything. Also Fred's not like that. He doesn't care about clothes or handbags. I'm not even sure he cares anything about dating." 

Carol stopped holding up the dresses and gave a pout. "You really don't think he'll care?"

"Why would he?" 

"Cause everyone else does. I got into this school and the sorority house on a scholarship. I won a grant, but a lot of the other girls are here 'cause they got money or their family knows the dean or some crap like that." She sighed and hugged her knees. "It's the same with guys over at the frat house. Most of them are nice enough but, it's hard to feel like you fit in when you're still buying your clothes from the bargain bin over at the Goodwill." 

"Naw, Fred's not like that at all, and neither are any of my other friends. Just wear what you want." 

He gave her an encouraging smile and she returned it with a small one of her own. 

"Okay." She conceded. "Then I want to wear the one with the flowers." She held up the dress again. 

"Fine, then I'll be down stairs waiting." Varian gave a mock sigh of frustration before they both broke out into giggles. He then headed down stairs to let her change.

* * *

Yamasho was a sushi restaurant that held karaoke night every weekend. It was the typical hole in the wall that locals from the neighborhood frequented. Nothing fancy but decent food when on a budget and the family owned establishment took good care of it's regulars. 

The gang of college students were given a large table near the stage. Well it was actually two tables shoved together to accommodate the large group, who sat around eating, laughing, and just enjoying the freedom from their studies fnow that midterms were over with. 

Karmi walked over to the table to join her friends carrying with her a black three ring binder. 

"I got the song list book!" She said as she handed the folder to Hiro. 

"I'm not sure if I'll sing anything, but I'll take a look." 

"Oh, but ya got to!" Karmi urged as she took a seat next to him and peered over his shoulder at the list of songs. "That's the whole point of karaoke night, silly." 

"Why? So you can post my embarrassingly bad singing online?" Hiro shot back good naturedly. 

"If she won't then I will." Varian quipped. He leaned in to look at the booklet as well. "So how does this 'karaoke' work anyways?" 

"You pick a song off this list and give it to the DJ over there." Karmi pointed to a man standing next to the stage with a soundboard and computer. 

"Then when he calls you up on stage he'll play the music and you just sing along with it." Hiro explained. "There's also a screen that'll flash the lyrics up in case you forget the words." 

Varian scanned the listing looking for something familiar. "Does it have to be a song from this list specifically?" 

"Sometimes the DJ will do special requests," Wasabi added in, "but it might not have the words on screen if he does." 

Just then the piece of nigiri Wasabi held fell from between the chopsticks and landed on his shirt. This ignited laughter from the group and cry of frustration from the larger guy as he furiously tried to wipe off the stain. 

"Oh, that's right!" Honey Lemon said through a giggles, "this where you got your nickname from. Remember? It was last year we came here right after midterms." 

"I remember," Gogo confirmed, "it was our first semester and we wanted to celebrate." 

Fred chuckled. "Yeah old Wasabi had butter fingers then too." He turned to Carol to explain since she was new, "We hounded him for days about it and the name just stuck." 

"So wait, your name isn't actually Wasabi?" Varian asked. 

"No. Do you honestly think my mother named me after a condiment?" Wasabi snapped back. 

Varian shrugged. "I don't know. I don't know what the usual naming convictions in America is. In Corona, I once knew a girl who was named after lettuce, ok." 

"So what is your real name? I've never heard anyone one call you anything else but Wasabi either." Karmi asked. 

"Noel." 

Hiro snorted as he tried to contain his laughter "Noel?" He inhaled deeply and opened his mouth wide as if to belt something else out, but was interrupted by Wasabi. 

"I know you're not about to start singing a christmas carol right now, or I'll have to shove this whole nori roll into your mouth." He said in a deadpan voice that told everyone present that he heard the joke before. 

Hiro quickly snapped his jaw shut and swallowed hard. "Noooo, n-not all buddy." He squeaked. "Noel is….is a... festive name." 

Wasabi raised an annoyed eyebrow at him and Hiro plastered on an apologetic grin. 

"Sooo, how did you two get your nicknames?" Carol chimed in hoping to change the subject. 

"Well I have this favorite lotion that I always like to wear," Honey Lemon chirped, "its lemon and honey scented, and so Freddie… 

"So I started calling Honey Lemon," Fred joined in."cause she smells just as sweet as her personality." 

"Awe thank you," she blushed, "My real name is Amanda, but I really like the nickname so it's what I go by all the time now." 

"Oh, so that's what I smell whenever you fall asleep on.. me-" Varian paused in this realization as everyone turned to look at him. He coughed and started to stuff his face with sushi to distract from his faux pas. 

"Ok then…" Carol laughed, "So what about you Gogo? What's your real name?

"Lei." 

"Lei?" Karmi asked. "But that's actually shorter than Gogo. Why not just go by that instead?" 

The biker chick only shrugged and pointed back towards Fred. 

"Cause she's always on the go, ya know." Fred explained. 

"I don't really care what people call me." Gogo added. "I'm still Lei to my dad and Gogo to my friends." 

"Well then Gogo," Hiro asked as he passed the song folder down, "are you going sing anything?" 

"No." 

"Oh come on Gogo; it'll be fun." Honey Lemon encouraged. 

"Nope." 

"Then I'll pick something out." Fred grabbed the binder from her. He glanced over it's contents and said, "I think I wanna do a rap song." 

Hiro snorted, "You can rap?" 

"Sure I can rap. " He said indignantly. 

"I'm not sure if I'd call what you do 'rap'." Wasabi interject.

"Oh yeah, well then just watch this." And with that Fred got up and walked over to the DJ, taking the binder with him. 

"Rich and talented" Carol mused after he was out of ear shot, "I'm surprised none of you are dating." 

Gogo burst into laughter. "You mean Fred? Oh, no noooo no; that's big nope. You haven't known Fred very long." 

Carol frowned. 

"We all love Freddie," Honey Lemon interceded, " He's a great guy. It's just...sometimes he can get a liiiitle…" 

"Insane." Gogo said. 

"Intense!" Honey Lemon quickly corrected and then paused as she realized this was perhaps not the best alternative. "No. Wait. That's not the right word...hmm…Passionate! Yes. He's a very passionate person." 

"He's also insane." Gogo whispered to Carol. 

That's when Fred walked on stage and picked up the microphone.

* * *

The night went on. Everyone sang, laughed, and carried on as young people do. Then it was time to head home. 

They dropped Carol off first at the sorority house. 

"Here let me get out first." Fred said as he opened the limo door and stepped out, "that way you can get out easier with having to crawl all over me." He reached a hand out to help her and Carol grabbed it as she scooted across the long seat to get out. 

"My you are quite the gentlemen, ain't ya?" She flirted as she stepped out of the car. She flashed him a wide grin but Fred didn't catch on to her meaning behind the words. 

"Ah, I try." He shrugged obliviously. 

Varian got out as well. "Well good sir, if you would be so kind as to leave the car running." He said in a mocking manner, imitating the upper nobility he'd sometimes see in court. 

Fred caught on to the joke and put on his best fake upcurst accent. "Indubitably, abd will that be all my lord?" He gave a mock bow and they both broke out into snickers. 

Carol rolled her eyes and started to walk off, irritated that Varian had gotten in the way. 

He followed after. 

"I don't need you to walk me to the door you know." She said under her breath. 

"I know, I just…"

"Just what?" She reached the porch and whirled around. "We aren't dating, remember?" 

"I..I know." Varian looked surprised. "I just figured since I asked you to come along I should be the one to say goodnight to you." He awkwardly explained.

Carol crossed her arms. 

"Did I do something wrong?" 

She sighed. "I don't want Fred to think we're a couple." 

Varian turned back to look at the other teen. He spotted them both looking at him and waved. "Goodnight. It was nice meeting you." He yelled. 

She smiled and waved back. 

"You..you really like him?" Varian asked. 

"Well yeah," Carol said."He's nice, and the fact that he can afford to spring for a taco now and then doesn't hurt either." 

She paused as if a thought occurred to her. "You think I'm being shallow." 

"What? No. If you like him that's great. Hey, that's two friends of mine who get along. Wh-what's not to like about that." 

She raised an eyebrow. "You jealous?" 

"No." He pouted. "It sure didn't take long to get over me though." He joked. 

Carol laughed, "Awww, I'm sure you've broken plenty of hearts." 

"Who me? Yeah right." Varian scoffed. He then became thoughtful. "I haven't had many chances to meet people until I came here." 

"Well of course not. You're only sixteen." She rolled her eyes and then smiled. "You've got plenty of time to find love." 

Varian only returned a half smile."Yeah...time…that's also something I always feel like I'm running out of." 

"Ugh, I know. Midterms were killer this year, and we gotta do it all again in a few more weeks for finals." He turned and walked back towards the door. "Night. This was fun. Next time y'all decide to do something like this be sure to invite me again." 

"We will." 

"Oh and if you could maybe find out what Fred thinks of me between now and then? Maybe drop a hint or two…" 

Varian rolled his eyes, "I'm not playing messenger." 

Carol stuck out her bottom lip and gave a pleading look. 

"Fine." Varian conceded. "But unless you're waving a comic book in front of his face I don't think you're going to get him to notice." He warned. 

"Comic book fan, gottcha." She dismissed the warning. "There's tons of guys here who are into those. There's even a sequential art program here at the school." 

"You don't get it. Fred doesn't just like comic books...he _lives_ comic books. You should see his room." 

"Oooh should now?" She teased. 

"I didn't mean… forget it." 

She laughed again, "I thought you weren't jealous?" 

"I'm not." He said defensively. "Look I'll ask, but just don't get your hopes up, that's all I'm saying. Fred's...well…he.. doesn't pick up hints very well." 

"So I need to be even more obvious?" 

"Or just more up front." 

She furrowed her brow in thought. "Hmmm...ok, then I'll keep that in mind for next time. Thanks again, Varian, your a good friend and night." 

He returned the farewell as she closed the door. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a video to go with this one too  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTXc0vbdr6A
> 
> Everyone's names are based of thier names in the comics but slightly altered to match thier new backstories for the film.


	32. Trina

Varian scrounged around the heaps of discarded metal, plastic, and other assorted junk. He was at the scrapyard looking for disused parts for the car he and Gogo were building together. He would have to pay for newer parts for the motor and such, but the body of the vehicle could be built using recycled pieces. 

With some effort he pulled off a hubcap from a detached tire. He held it up to inspect for any warps or dents in the metal. It looked good to him and so he tossed into the wheelbarrow behind him where it landed on top of a bunch of other mismatched hubcaps, motorcycle headlights, and a broken off rear view mirror. 

His car, once completed, may not look like the sleeker factory made models, but it would be cheaper and it'll run well. He even hoped Gogo would let him experiment and add some unique features, like rocket boosters, or flight capabilities, but she so far had shot all his ideas down. 

"This is your first time building a car, you gotta master the basics first. Plus rockets on automobiles aren't road legal. I've already tried." 

Varian rolled his eyes to himself as he recalled Gogo's words. He then reached over to another pile of trash and pulled out a steering wheel. Just then, he heard the sound of someone angrily shouting. 

Curious he peered around the trash heap behind him. Apparently he wasn't alone in the junkyard. He saw a girl tearing through another garbage pile a ways off, hissing curses as she frantically searched for something. 

Only she wasn't a normal girl. She had the head and voice of a young teenager, but her body was completely made of metal. She was a towering eight feet tall and her bulky mismatched limbs suggested that she herself was thrown together using recycled parts. 

She looked like an automaton, Varian thought, but she didn't behave like one. Robots didn't get angry, did they? 

While he was watching her, trying to decide who or what she was and how best to approach her, if he even should, her arm suddenly fell off. 

She had been trying to pull something heavy out from under the pile of junk, only for her right limb to completely detach from it's socket. Varian feared she might be hurt, but instead of crying or fainting or whatever, she just kicked the garbage in frustration and started to scream even more curses. 

"Stupid garbage! Stupid broken modem! Stupid, stupid arm!" She shouted. 

Varian rushed to her, "D-do you need help?" 

She paused mid-rant and looked at him in surprise. Then her face contorted into a scowl. "Who are you?" 

"Ummm...I'm Varian...and I just noticed that you...well I thought you might need help." 

She raised an eyebrow in suspicion, but failed to say anything else. So Varian pressed on, "I-I happen to have some tools on me. I could screw your arm back on...just let me get my wrench, I left in the wheel-" 

"Why?" 

Varian started to make his way back to the wheelbarrow but stopped at the girls question. 

"Well...Don't you want your arm back, ooorrrr…" 

"Of course I want my arm back on you dumbnut!" She huffed. "I meant why do you care? What's in it for you?" 

"Nothing. I just thought I'd be nice, but hey if you don't want my help…" 

He shrugged his shoulders and turned to leave, but stopped again when she shouted, "Wait!" 

He raised his eyebrows questioningly at her as she stumbled over her pride. 

"I..just..I…how do you I know you won't just...I don't know.. Try something funny." 

"Well, you're clearly stronger than me so if I didn't do what I said was going to, you just chuck me into the garbage I'm sure." 

"That's true. I am pretty strong." She bragged, only to then look ruefully down at the large scrap of metal she had been trying to lift. "Though this stupid thing is jammed tight!" She then kicked the trash pile again. 

"Well let's take care of your arm first and then together we'll see what we can do." Varian offered as he walked back to the wheelbarrow and pulled out a wrench. 

When he came back the girl had retrieved her detached arm from the garbage. She sat down and tried to hold the heavy limb to its socket, so that Varian could focus on reattaching it. Though he still had to pull up a discarded bucket to stand on to reach her. 

"There we go." He said as he finished tightening the last bolt. "Now that should do it, but it's not permanent. I didn't have exactly the right sized wrench, so I'd be careful until you can get to some better tools. It might pop back off again if you try to lift something too heavy or move it the wrong way. But it should hold till then." 

The girl flexed the reattached arm, and then gave Varian a huge smile.

"Thanks..I'm Trina, by the way." 

"It's nice to meet you Trina." He held out his hand to shake, and she took it but was very careful not to squeeze his hand too hard; though her naturally larger arm movements still threw Varian off balance. 

"Sooo, how do we lift this up? I need what's underneath it." She thumbed at the large sheet of metal. 

"Well if we just need to lift it high enough to get underneath it...how about a lever?"

"Like that pole over there?" She pointed to a rusty bit of pipe sticking out from one of the garbage piles. 

"Yeah, that'll do." 

They pulled out the pole and jammed it underneath the metal slab. Together they pushed down on one end as the other lifted up the broken sheet. Varian let go and ran around to the other side and ducked down while Trina held it up. 

"Now what am I looking for exactly?" He asked. 

"A broken modem." 

"This?" He held up a black box that was chipped and cracked on one side.

"Oh my gosh, yes! That's it!" She cheered. 

He crawled out from under the metal sheet and handed the box over to her. Her smile grew wider as she sntached it from him. She then busted the thing apart and picked out a computer chip from the inside. 

She held it up to inspect it, "Yes! This is just what I needed. Thanks a lot...Varian was it?" 

"Yeah. Well, I'm glad you found what you were looking for. I guess I'll just gather my things and be going now…" 

"Wait!" 

Trina stood there awkwardly shuffling her large steel feet. 

"D-do you really have to go?" 

"Weeelll...I suppose I don't have to go right this min-" 

"Because I just got a new racing game!" She blurted out eagerly. "I mean… It's my little brother's video game, he downloaded it for us, but if you want we could play a few matches." 

"You mean here? In...the junkyard?" He asked, confused. 

"Oh, yeah, I'll show you!" She grinned and then motioned Varian to follow her. 

* * *

"Here we go! Make yourself at home." Trina declared with a big smile upon her face. 

She stood in front of a ramshackle shack on the edge of the junkyard. Varian tentatively stepped inside, unsure what to expect. The indoors was just as hobbled together as the outside. Mismatched view screens and computer terminals took up one side of the wall. Exposed wires ran everywhere. In one corner was a ripped sofa and a wooden crate set as a makeshift table with a deck of water-stained playing cards carelessly discarded upon it. 

"Is..is this your workshop?" He hesitantly asked.

"Sort of." She led him over to the display of computers. "Hey, check out my custom builds! Highest specs, three whole terabytes of RAM, and I wrote all the software for it myself. This baby will run the newest  _ Mind Smith Turbo _ game like a breeze." 

Her bragging was interrupted by one of the motherboards sparking and a screen flickered off. 

"Of course, being handmade from scratch means a bit more maintenance." If robots could have blushed, she would have done so just then as she hastily changed the subject. "Which game would you like to play? I have that racing game I was telling you about,  _ Mind Smith Turbo  _ II, and there's  _ Tetris _ if you prefer old school." 

"I'm afraid I don't know much about video games, so I'm fine with whatever." Varian replied.

"Ok, racing it is!" She turned on a retro console and picked up a couple of mismatched controllers, handing one to Varian. One of the larger view screens switched on, displaying the game. She sat on the floor and Varian took a seat on the couch across from her. 

"Get ready to eat my dust!" She challenged with a wide grin. 

Varian could only absently nod along as he tried to familiarize himself with the controls. Though he could barely focus on the game itself. His mind was too busy racing with questions. 

Who hung out in a garbage dump all day? Why did she have robotic limbs? Was she half human or just a super advanced robot? Would she be offended if he asked? Could automatons even have feelings? Did it matter? 

After all a person was a person, metal or no, and Trina clearly had the ability to think, reason, and feel like a person would. Also she mentioned a 'brother'. Maybe he was an automaton as well. Maybe this world had thousands of such beings and he just didn't know about them till now. Yet he would have expected that to come up at some point by now if it were so. 

* * *

Hours passed and they played several rounds of the racing game and a couple of games of Tetris. More often than not Trina won. Varian didn't mind losing tho, he was just glad to have made another friend, but the sun was beginning to set.

"Do you have to go?" Trina asked when Varian made to leave. "Look I got… ahhh…Mind Smith Turbo! We haven't played that yet." 

"Well maybe we can play it next time, but my aunt's waiting for me. I don't want her to worry. How about you? Surely your family don't want you staying out too late either?" 

Trina stiffened at that suggestion and Varian couldn't shake the sneaking suspicion that he had hit upon a sore topic. 

"Where do you live? I could walk you home if you want? Keep you company?" He suggested helpfully. 

Trina turned him down. "Uh, no thanks. I'm going to hang around here for a little while. I'm waiting for my little brother to get back." 

Varian searched her face warily. Something was off. She wasn't lying persay, but it was clear to him that she was hiding something. 

"Well when do you suspect he'll be back? Cause if you think he'll show up soon, then we could all walk home together." 

Trina gave him a strained smile. "No, that's ok. We can take care of ourselves." 

"You sure? Cause I don't mind…"

"I said it's fine!" Trina snapped. "What are you? A boy scout or something? I'm not your good deed for the day, so just go on!" 

Varian was taken aback by Trina's swift change in demeanor but that only raised his suspicion even more. Something was wrong. She was in some sort of trouble; he could feel it. But she also clearly didn't want any help, and trying to press the matter would only make things worse. 

"Well..alright, if you're sure." He turned to leave but stopped when he hit upon an idea. "You know, my, uh, 'cousin' just got the newest Mind Smith Turbo game for his birthday. You could come by our house some time and we could play it. Bring your little brother along too; we can team up and play two on two. What'dya say?" 

Her expression softened from an angry growl into an indignant pout. "You sure I could even fit through the door." She mocked. 

Varian decided to ignore the sarcasm. "Sure, we can play in the garage. That's where he keeps his computer anyways." 

Trina's eyes darted back and forth. She was on precipice of giving in but still something was holding her back. So Varian decided to reel her in with a bit of flattery. 

"Of course it's not as impressive a set up as your lab, but I think we can make do." 

This seemed to win her over. 

"Well of course it isn't." She smirked. "I guess I'll just have to go now and show you boys how it's done." 

"Sooo...tomorrow then? I'll see you around, I don't know, four, maybe?" 

"Yeah, four sounds good." 

Varian flashed his biggest Cheshire grin and sauntered out of the little shack, feeling like he had just won a round Tetris. Trina followed after. 

"Oh by the way, we live above the Lucky Cat Cafe. Do you know where it is?" He called back to her as he left. When he didn't hear an answer he turned back around to see Trina looking up at the sky with a scowl upon her face. 

He followed her gaze and saw Hiro and Baymax flying overhead. They were pursuing a strange creature that Varian had never seen before. It was bipedal, like a person, and wore a pair of red overalls, but it's head looked just like a giant hamburger with a face upon it and the thing flew around using rockets attached to its shoes. 

"Can't catch me! Nah, Nanha, Nan, Nah!" The thing sang in a childish voice. 

The creature then baited the two heroes close to a large pile of scrap and shot two lasers out of its coal black eyes. Hiro and Baymax were able to dodge the blasts easily, but the tower of junk came toppling down on top of them. 

Varian gasped and ran over to dig them out. He found Hiro rather quickly, who groaned and looked up at him clearly disoriented. Varian lifted up the last of the debris that pinned Hiro's legs down and then scooped up the other boy and began to drag him away from the junkpile. 

He started to call for Trina to come help, but the creature interrupted him. 

"Hey sis, did you see me!? Did'ya hun!? I took out Big Hero Six all by myself!" The funny little hamburger child crowed eagerly and landed right next to Trina. 

"I sure did, Noodle Burger Boy. I guess you're not a completely useless little brother after all." Trina answered in a sweetly mocking fashion. 

"Lit-little brother?" Varian breathed as he pieced together what was going on. 

"Trina." Hiro growled as she tried to push Varian out of the way and stand up. He wobbled some but managed to stand his ground despite squinting in pain.

"Are you okay, man?" Varian asked him. 

"Aww, isn't that cute. You really are a boy scout aren't you?" Trina directed the comment to Varian. "You shouldn't bother though. He's the dirtbag who ruined my life." The smirkl from her face fell away and she raised her larger robotic arm and pointed it at them. A light began to flash on her wrist and suddenly a laser blast shot out. The beam went wide and hit the tower of trash to the left of them. 

"Trina wait!" Varian placed himself between her and Hiro, spreading his arms wide to shield the other teen. "Let's just...lets just talk this out ok?" 

"Move Varian, this doesn't concern you." Was her reply as she aimed her arm again. 

"Like hell it doesn't! This is my, my 'cousin', I told you about." 

"Oh I get it." Trina said. "So this whole time you were just trying to play me!" 

"What? No!" 

"I can't believe I fell for your nice guy act. Good thing Noodle Burger Boy showed up when he did, so he could expose your little game." 

"That's not it! Trina please just listen!" 

"Oh yeah right! Like that's going to happen now. You were planning on leading me into a trap all along!" 

"No, I wasn't! I-" 

Noodle Burger Boy, as the strange robot was apparently called, jumped in between two of them to interrupt the argument.

"No one tries to hurt my sister and gets away with it! Put up your dukes mister!" The little automaton then proceeded to lift his tiny fists up and bounce around as if he was inside a boxing ring, but made no other motion to attack him. It would have been comical if Varian hadn't remembered that the thing could also shoot lasers out of its eyes. 

"Varian, run." Hiro whispered from behind him.

"But.." 

"Just do it." Hiro hissed. 

Varian thought fast, "Soooo you wanna boxing match?" He asked the hamburger headed robot. "Well we gotta have a boxing ring fist don't we?" 

"Ooooh you're right!" Noodle Burger Boy agreed, as if that was now the most important thing in the world. "Where do we get one?" 

"Well why don't we split up and go find one and meet back here in an hour?" 

"Okay!" He cheered and turned on his rocket boosters to fly away. 

"No, NB he's just trying to trick you." Trina facepalmed and shook her head. 

"Oh." The little robot said sheepishly before turning on Varian once more. "Hey that's not very nice!"

"Well neither is trying to kill people!" Varian snapped back. 

Now it was Hiro's turn to roll his eyes. "Varian." 

"Okay I'm getting tired of this." Trina said and then took aim once more and fired.

Everyone dodged out of the way. Hiro ducked and rolled and when he came back up threw a couple of shuriken at Trina. Who knocked them to the side easily. Varian dived behind the pile of scrap that Baymax was still stuck under. Only to be confronted by Noodle Burger. Boy, who flew right up to him, yelled, "Howdey", and the shot his lasers at him. 

Varian ducked again as the laser hit the trash heap and sent even more debris falling. 

It was Trina's turn to dodge out of the way of the falling junk. 

"Noodle Burger Boy!" She yelled in frustration.

"Sorry big sis." Her brother apologized and rushed over to her. 

The boys took this opportunity to regroup. 

They hid behind another scrap pile, Hiro wincing as he ran behind it. 

"Ugh, I think I may have twisted my ankle." He said as he sunk down to sit beside Varian. 

"Ok what did you do to make Trina so angry?" Varian ordered under his breath. 

"I didn't do anything!" Hiro protested. "Other than save the city from the crazy guy who invented her."

"Come out, come out, wherever you are?" Trina sang as she used her laser to hit another pile of junk near them. 

"Okay, okay," Varian relented. "Then what's the plan? Have you called the others for back up yet?" 

"No such luck. The intercom is busted." Hiro tapped the side of his helmet to where there was a crack running along the side where the ear piece would be normally. "We either need to free Baymax or make a break for it and try to escape. Though either option means finding a way to distract Trina and Noodle Burger Boy." 

"So you're saying one of us needs to fend them off while the other runs for it to get help." 

Hiro nodded. 

"I'll do it." Both boys said simultaneously. 

"You can't do it! I'm the one who is armed." 

"You're also the one with a busted ankle remember." 

"Which means I'll be slower at running than you. You should get out of here and call the gang on your phone when you're safely away." 

"While you get your brains blown out because you can't dodge their lasers. Yeah, no way!" 

"Look sis! I found them!" Noodle Burger Boy flew in to interrupt their argument and both boys had to dodge out of the line of fire once more. 

After rolling out of the way Hiro threw up his shield and tried to block Noodle Burger Boy's attacks. He was able to stop the laser blast but remained pinned under the smaller robot's barrage. 

Varian wasn't so lucky. In his efforts to avoid the falling debris from the recently exploded junk heap, he ran straight into Trina. He bumped into her metal body and fell flat on his back, just as if she was a brick wall. 

As he laid prone on the ground trying to recover he felt a weight press down on his chest. He looked up to see Trina standing over him, one of her great metal feet on top of him pinning him to the ground while she aimed the laser of her robotic arm right at his head. 

He would've been dead right then and there had it not been for Trina's love of gloating. 

"I win." She sneered as she leaned down to make eye contact with him, a wicked smile forming on her lips. 

Varian struggled to think of a way to stall her as he fruitlessly tried to push her off him. "O-kay, and then what? Not like we'll be able to play any more video games if you kill me." 

Trina laughed. "Video games!? You think I care about some dumb video games?"

"You-you did just a few moments...ago." He was starting to gasp for air. 

"Idiot. I'm playing the long game. Once I've taken over San Fansokyo and avenged my father, then I won't need to hide out in garbage dumps. I'll be able to play any game I want to then. I'll even build myself new friends to play with. I'll have everything." 

"Father?" Varian's mind raced as he tried to comprehend Trina's words. Not an easy task as he also struggled to breathe. Yet, her ranting struck a familiar cord. "You..you mean the g-guy who invented you?" 

"He did more than just invent me!" Trina growled as she pressed her foot down harder. It was a miracle that Varian's ribs didn't crack. "Father was brilliant! He could build anything. He was going to remake the whole city. His only flaw was trusting that..that  _ hero _ ."

Trina's voice dropped to snarl and she averted her eyes to look at Hiro still stuck under his shield trying to fend off Noodle Burger Boy. Varian couldn't tilt his head far enough back to see, but he knew what she meant. Her 'father' must have been one of the criminals that Hiro and their friends fought, and Trina blamed them for his demise. 

"O-okay. That explains why you hate Hiro, but why g-go after the whole city?" Varian grunted. 

"Why?" Trina's voice dripped with disdain. "Why!? Look at me! You think I fit in with fleshy bags of skin like yourself! Robots are treated as machines, made for human benefit and nothing else. Why they had Noodle Burger Boy working as a slave in a fast food joint until father rescued him, and that dumb Baymax is so ingrained in his programing that he can't even see how he's being used. Not me, tho. Father built me with a mind of my own. He had a vision for this city, a better one where robots were equals. Well I'll fulfill his dying wish and robots will not only be equals, but the masters instead. You'll serve us." 

Varian stopped struggling. "So you want to destroy and enslave an entire city, because they rejected you; abandoned you after you were left orphaned." 

"Well yeah. That and robots are just cooler." 

Varian laughed. A cold empty laugh. 

"Wh-what's so funny?" Disturbed, Trina bent down to grab Varian by his shirt with her other arm as she placed her lazer right next to his temple. "You're about to die you know."

"Nothing." Varian smiled. "Just you and I might be the only two people in the entire cosmos who understands what the other is going through." 

"You don't understand anything." 

"Oh? Well I understand how a bolt works." 

"What?"

Instead of clarifying Varian grabbed Trina's larger arm and began to beat his fist along the inside just below her armpit. The bolts that he had tightened earlier in the day loosened and the arm fell off once more. 

Shocked, Trina stumbled back, freeing Varian from underneath. 

"I warned you that bolts weren't tight enough." Varian picked up the metal arm and pointed the lazer at her instead. "Look. I've been there. I know what it's like to have a whole city, a whole country, turn its back on you. To live on the run after losing your dad, but trust me, enslaving San Fansokyo, killing us, won't bring your father back." 

"I know it won't! I'm not stupid! And who the heck are you to preach to me?! I don't care what supposedly happened in your life. It's not the same as mine! You still don't know anything!" Trina screamed. She looked like she wanted to cry, but robots couldn't shed tears. 

Varian felt sorry for her, and for himself as well, but he only gripped the lazer tighter. No telling what she would do when cornered like this. 

"Trina, please, we can talk this out. Just tell your brother to sto-" 

"We're done talking! There's nothing you do to make this right and Hiro has to pay for what he did." 

"I'm done asking, Trina." He raised the arm higher to aim at her head. "Let Hiro go!" 

"You haven't got the guts." She sneered. But her smirk quickly turned into a gasp when a laser bolt shot past her head and singed her hair. 

"I'm not a "boy scout" Trina," Varian,"and next time I won't miss." 

Trina pouted. Things weren't going as planned, but she  _ hated _ admitting defeat. Especially to a human with zero superpowers. How did she let herself get tricked by this guy twice? She was getting sloppy. No more 'friends' she decided. 

"Okay. You win. NB!" Noodle Burger Boy stopped mid-attack and looked at his big sis questioningly. "Stop going after Hiro…. and go after Varian instead." 

Varian just barely stumbled out of the way of Noodle Burger Boy's blast. He tripped and lost hold of Trina's arm. Fortunately Hiro jumped the little robot from behind and wrestled him to the ground before he could get in another shot. That however didn't stop Trina from coming after him. 

She picked Varian up by his shirt collar with her one remaining arm and hauled him over to the trash compactor. 

It was a deep pit in the middle of the junkyard with large metal slaps on each side, used to crush cars. She turned the machine on and then tried to carry Varian over to the pit. 

Just then Baymax finally dug his way out of the junk pile he had been buried under. He burst out from under the trash and shot his rocket arm at Trina. She dodged it easily, but it was enough of a distraction for Varian to wiggle out of his shirt and out of Trina's grip. 

Then the robotic nurse turned his attention towards Hiro and Noodle Burger Boy still wrestling on the ground. He flew over to them and tried to separate the two. 

Varian tried to sneak away while the three of them were thus engaged but he felt a cold metallic grip snatch his arm. He was lifted off the ground once more and soon found himself dangling over the compactor pit. He gulped as he saw the two slabs of metal come together and crush the car sitting at the bottom; metal screeching against metal. 

"Let my little brother go, or I'll drop him!" Trina yelled. 

Varian looked over to see the robotic hamburger kid being held tightly in Baymax's arms. 

"Why should we trust you?" Hiro yelled back. "You'll drop him anyways as soon as we let Noodle Burger Boy go?" 

"Three." Trina began to count. "Two." She lifted a finger with each number, loosening her grip. "One and a half." 

Varian kicked his legs and swung himself to grab hold of Trina's arm with his other hand. He then wrapped his legs around said arm as well, as if holding on to a tree branch. 

"Hey! Get off!" Trina shouted and she tried to kick him off with her feet. 

While she struggled with Varian, Hiro desperately tried to think of a plan. Baymax couldn't let go of Noodle Burger Boy, otherwise the evil robot would just start attacking them. Hiro could try to run over and fight Trina himself with his electromagnetics, but his injured ankle would slow him down and he didn't have much time. 

Then he spotted the panel on Noodle Burger Boy's back. He pried it open while Baymax still held on and saw inside wires, usb outlets, a small interface with buttons and…

"..a reset switch!" Hiro breathed. "H-Hey, Trina!" 

The larger robotic girl paused in her attempts to throw Varian into the car crusher below and looked to Hiro in confusion. 

"New terms!" Hiro yelled back at her. "Let all of us go free, including Varian, or I pull the plug on Noodle Burger Boy." 

"You..you wouldn't." Trina shot back, but it was evident in her voice that she wasn't confident in that assertion. 

"Oh wouldn't I? Three. Two. One and a half." Hiro slowed his countdown and looked Trina dead in the eyes. She glared daggers at him but made no move to release Varian, as if daring him to continue. Hiro took a steady breath and then yelled. "One." 

He flipped the reset switch and the little robot powered down and went limp. 

"Noooo!" Trina screamed and rushed over to her little brother, finally flinging Varian to the ground as she went. He landed hard with a "oof" and rubbed his sore wrist but otherwise he appeared unharmed. 

Hiro and Baymax backed away from Noodle Burger Boy as she neared, giving them space. She grabbed the smaller robot and shook him by his shoulder. "Noodle Burger Boy! Noodle Burger Boy?" 

The little robot finally opened his fiber optic eyes as his system finished rebooting. 

"Oh NB...thank goodness you're alright!" Trina sighed in relief. "Come on let's show these losers that they can't mess with us!" 

"Sure thing miss!" The childish robot chirped. "But, just one thing first. I need to know your name before I can take your order." 

"N-noodle Burger Boy, it's me. Trina! Big Sis…" She trailed off as the hamburger headed robot stared at her blankly. 

"Would you like fries with that, Big Sis?" He said in a more clipped than usual voice. 

" _ You!"  _ Trina growled accusingly at Hiro. "You wiped his memory files! Now I have to search for a backup! If there even is one!" 

She stifled a sob and scooped up Noodle Burger Boy with her one arm. 

"Don't think this is over Hiro! We'll be back!" And with that she bounded away, leaping on top of a large trash heap with her super strength before making another jump on top of the nearest building and running off. 

Once she was out of sight Hiro collapsed to the ground in relief as Varian walked over to join them, nursing his arm. 

"Will… will he be alright?" Varian asked him. 

"Noodle Burger Boy? I-I'm sure Obake kept a backup file." Hiro tried to reassure both himself and Varian. "Besides all I did was reset him back to his original factory settings, like he's supposed to be. Obake is the one who stole him and messed with his head." 

Varian however only frowned at that, but he made no further comment. 

"You are both injured." Baymax said. "You each have sprained joins and minor cuts and bruises. I recommend a cold compress to reduce swelling and antiseptic to prevent infection." 

"Thanks Baymax," Hiro replied. "But let's get home first and then we'll take care of our injuries." 

Varian helped Hiro up and together they mounted Baymax's back. 

"So what are we going to tell Aunt Cass when we get there?" Varian asked. 

"I'll think of something. Besides it's my turn to suffer through a lecture." Hiro gave Varian a comforting smile, which Varian returned, though his mind turned to Trina once more as soon as the other boy's back was turned. 

She needed a friend. A real one, who wouldn't abandon her. Like the one he found in Hiro. Yet what do you do when the person who needs said friend only wanted to kill you? 

Such questions plagued his mind the whole ride home, but he had no answers for them. Still at least everyone was safe; relatively speaking that is. 

It was only when they landed upon the roof of the Lucky Cat did Varian remember his wheelbarrow full of car parts and the reason for his entire trip to junkyard to begin with. 

"Dang it!" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took forever. I've started a new job and so my projects have taken a backseat. I'm still working on this story but updates will be less frequent.


	33. Don't Mole On My Parade

"Beware evil doers, for I, the mighty Minimax, doth roam the streets with my trusted partner Fred, along with his newest protégé Varian, and together we plan to buy a DVD!" 

Varian watched the small robot jump upon a mailbox to proclaim this lofty goal. The little automaton looked just like his namesake, a mini Baymax, but his behavior was far different from the robotic nurse. Hiro had built him to be a sidekick for Fred and so the robot acted just as if he came out of a silver age comic. 

"Hey Fred?" Varian asked. 

"Yeah?" 

"What happened to 'keeping a superhero's identity secret is rule number one in the hallows of superherodom'?"

His friend looked back at him confused, "It is. Why?"

"Because your robot pal isn't exactly what I would call ' inconspicuous'. Aren't you worried someone might recognize him and, you know, put two and two together?" 

Fred looked surprised, as if he had never considered this possibility. After a moment's thought he called after his robotic companion. 

"You know, your right. Hey Minimax, 

come here, you need a disguise."

The little android dutifully ran up to the teen and Fred pulled out a pair of sunglasses and placed them upon its head. 

"There! How does that look?" 

"Like a small white robot wearing sunglasses." 

"Exactly! Usually he wears a cape when he's superheroing." 

"You seriously don't expect people to be fooled by a pair of glasses do you?" 

"Why not? It worked for Henry Reeve. He played Captain Fancy in the tv show."

"Yeah but I doubt the guy was a two foot tall robot." 

"As far as we know…." Fred said stone faced as he looked Varian dead in the eye; the way he often did when spouting some crazy theory that no one else believed. 

Varian decided to cut his losses. There was no getting through to Fred once he latched onto an idea; regardless of how ill advised and detached from reality it was. 

"So where are we going again?" Varian asked instead. 

"We're going to the comic book store to buy a copy of the Professor What DVD that just came out." 

"I thought you already owned every episode though?" 

"I do. Of every _aired_ episode that is. This is the "lost serial". It was recorded but never broadcast due to a production strike during the 70s and the only way to see it was through bootlegs. But now the EBC has released it in full on dvd, plus extras, like special interviews with the cast and such." 

"Ok, that's cool, I guess."

"Mega cool! I can't wait to see it in all it's high definition glory!" Fred joyously squealed only to sober up as they neared the comic shop. "There's only one problem." 

"What's that?" 

"Richardson Mole" Fred growled. 

"Mole?" Varian echoed, confused.

"My arch nemesis, remember? His is the only comic store in town that currently has any copies. The rest won't get theirs till next week!" 

"Then why not wait until next week to get it then?" Varian very sensibly asked. 

Fred looked at him aghast, "And let Mole gloat over getting to see it a whole week early!? Un-uh! No way! Buuuuut he won't sell me a copy; so that's why you're here." 

Fred wrapped an arm around Varian's shoulder and pointed at the other teen's chest as he recounted his plan. 

"You see, Minimax and I will cause a distraction drawing Mole outside. While he's gone, you quickly grab a dvd from the display stand and mix it up with a bunch of other stuff you're going to purchase and dump it all on the counter. Hopefully he'll be so annoyed by what me and Minimax have planned, that he won't notice that he sold you a copy along with all the other things you grabbed. It's the perfect plan!" Fred rubbed his hands together devilishly. 

"Uh...hun….Ooor I could just walk in there and buy a copy outright instead of paying for a bunch of stuff I don't want." Varian countered. 

"You know... that's so crazy…it just might work. Minimax; new plan!" Fred yelled after his robot. 

* * *

The comic shop was not much different from the store inside the mall that Fred had taken Varian to on his first day in San Fansokyo. The main difference was it was a freestanding building and the cashier was a short child perhaps only a few years younger then Varian himself. 

"Hello, welcome to my sho--oh it's you, Fred." The kid interrupted his enthusiastic greeting towards Varian the moment Fred walked in behind him. 

"Why hello, Mole, unpleasant as ever I see." Fred retorted back with equal disdain. 

Mole only sighed and rolled his eyes. "What do you want Fred?" 

"Oh contraire, it's not what _I_ want but what my friend here wants." Fred gently but firmly nudged Varian up to the counter as he said this. "Tell him Varian." 

"Uhhh...I'd like the newest Professor What DVD...the lost episode one?... P-please." Varian wasn't sure what he had expected when Fred first asked him to come along on this quest for a DVD, but being glared at by a very irritated 12 year old from across the counter wasn't it. Moreover he hated being put on the spot like this. He really had no context for this apparent feud Fred had with this kid. 

"Really?" Mole raised an eyebrow. "And there's no chance that my rival Fred here didn't put you up to the task of buying the dvd for him?" 

"Uh...d-does it matter?" Varian shrugged, now completely bewildered. He had assumed Fred was only exaggerating about Mole, same as he exaggerated about just everything, but no, turns out that the pre-teen really was that petty. 

"Uh, of course it matters." The kid replied as if Varian had missed something obvious. "I have the only copies in town and in limited quantities. I'll only sell them to true fans of the series, otherwise someone might just buy from me and then sell it at a mark up price online or something. Now why should I give someone else that advantage when I can corner the market?" 

Varian raised an eyebrow at this explanation but Fred stepped in before he could say anything. 

"Hey, Varian's a fan. We've been marathoning the series. Tell him, buddy." Fred gave Varian another nudge. 

"Oh really? Well then, Varian, who is your favorite Professor?" Mole's voice dripped with incredulity. 

"Y-you mean there's more than one?" Varian began to ask in confusion but Fred jumped him, covering Varian's ears with his hands. Though it did little good as Varian could still hear Fred shushing Mole. 

"Shhh...Careful with the spoilers Mole!" 

"I knew it! I knew It!" Mole yelled back. "You just dragged your friend over here to buy the special edition dvd for you!" 

"I did not!" Fred snapped back. 

Minimax jumped up onto the counter and pointed a finger at Mole. "No one accuses my Fred of trickery, foul villain. For even though that is indeed the plan and you must have only deduced that with your nefarious cunning." 

"Minimaaaax!" Fred whined. 

Varian was losing his patience. He shoved Fred off him. "Look, yes, I came here to buy the DVD so Fred and I could watch it in our marathon. But so far we've only watched the first season and more copies are arriving in a week, so what does it matter!?" 

"Wait? You've only seen season one, as in the original series first season from 1963?" Mole asked. 

"Uh..Yeah?" 

"That's what I was trying to tell you, Mole." Fred interrupted again. "He's going into the series completely blind. He doesn't know about… r-e-n-e-w-a-l yet." 

"Renewal?" Varian echoed now even more confused. Fred had tried to drop his voice to a whisper but Varian heard anyway. 

Mole's entire demeanor magically changed. Gone was his standoffish and combative nature and in its place was a look of genuine excitement. 

"Ooooh, how I envy you my friend! Imagine being able to experience the whole series fresh! Oh..oh, then what's your favorite story so far?" 

"Ummm...I liked the one we just finished… it's the one where they're stuck in the middle of the French Revolution."

"Interesting choice." Mole said intrigued. "So who's your favorite assistant?"

"Well I don't if she counts as an 'assistant' but my favorite character so far is the Professor's granddaughter, Sue." 

"Yeees!" Mole exclaimed suddenly, taking Varian a back. "Finally, someone who sees sense! Sue is so underappreciated. You know what?" Mole continued as he reached behind the counter to pull a dvd box off the shelf. "Just to show my support in your endeavor to embark on such a daunting quest as to view the entirety of Professor What, here is the dvd to complete the collection, free of charge." 

"Really?" Varian asked bewildered as Mole handed him the coveted copy. 

"Yup, just come back and let me know how you enjoyed the later seasons, or stop by and maybe check out some of the other Professor What merch I got for sell." 

Mole cheerily waved goodbye as Varian, Fred, and Minimax walked out of the shop. 

"What just happened?" Fred asked. 

Varian opened the thin box to see the disc inside. "Well, apparently your mortal enemy just gave me a free dvd." 

"I don't trust it." Fred said darkly. "Mole is up to something." 

"Do you want me to return it?"

"No!" Fred quickly exclaimed and reached out to grab the case. But Varian snatched it back out of his reach. 

"Now, now, he did give it to me, you know." Varian said as if reprimanding a small child and a sly grin slowly formed on his face. 

"Oooh, but.. But I waited _years_ to see it… pleeesee." 

Fred was practically crawling over him to get to the dvd but Varian fended him off while trying unsuccessfully to stifle his laughter. 

"I'll tell you what… I'll let you have it…but for a price." 

"Name it." 

Varian thought for a moment. "I wanna drive the limo." 

"Oh… but Heathcliff…" Fred stopped mid sentence as Varian waved the dvd in his face, his crooked smile growing wider. 

"Ok. Fine." Fred relented. "But on one condition. Heathcliff has to teach you how to drive it." 

"Deal." 

They shook hands and Varian handed over the movie. 

"Huhzzah!" Minimax proclaimed. "And once again the heroes have concluded their quest and now return home victorious!" 

* * *

"Hey Mole," Fred shouted as he sauntered into the comic shop. "Do you got any replacement parts for a limited addition Space Hike laser gun? I kind of broke mine dur---" 

Fred's voice trailed off when he noticed that the little store was empty. A week had passed since he and Varian had procured the Professor What DVD and Fred hadn't seen nor heard from his nemesis in that time. Fred didn't think that was too odd, it wasn't like he and Mole talked daily or anything, but it was suspicious for his rival to leave the store unattended without closing shop first. 

Fred's senses went on alert and he instinctively went into stealth mode: dropping to the ground and crouching on tiptoe as he looked for booby traps on the shelves, behind the doors, and under the displays. 

He didn't find any. 

Though as he ransacked the counter during his search, he did hear the distant sound of laughter and music coming from the "staff only room." Which wasn't a room really. It was an elevator that went into the basement. Mole had a private arcade down there and must have been playing video games and had simply forgotten to lock up. 

Satisfied that there was no danger of a prank literally blowing up in his face and covering him in some sort of slime or soap bubbles or something else that was similarly messy (Fred never forgot that time when Mole dumped dumped a bucket of chocolate fudge on his head five years ago) he decided to go down stairs to ask Mole about the previously mentioned parts. 

What he found was far worse than a bucket of chocolate syrup. 

In the basement Varian and Mole were both playing a video game. It was an old stand up arcade machine and on it was a retro beat 'em up. Both seemed to be enjoying themselves and called good natured taunts as they furiously pressed buttons trying to one up the other. 

Neither had noticed Fred enter. 

"Oh you're going down now!" Mole cheered. 

"In your dreams!" Varian laughed. 

He pressed the block button and his little pixelated character averted a punch from Mole's pixelated avatar and then grabbed said character into a hold and bodied slammed him to the ground. 

"K.O.!" A distorted voice from the machine announced and Varian threw up his hands in victory. 

"Ah…. Man!" Mole bemoaned. "You got lucky. I had you on the rocks." 

"Yeah, I did." Varian admitted with a snicker. 

"Best two out of three then?" Mole asked. 

"Naw.. I got an essay I need to finish bef-" Varian paused mid-sentence as he turned around and finally saw Fred. Who just stood there with his mouth agape. 

"Uh...hi, Fred." 

Fred just pointed his finger at them and made an unintelligible sound like a cross between a gasp and a squeal. 

"How the heck did you get in here Frederickson?" Mole said irritably. 

This seemed to awaken Fred from his stupor. 

"Betrayal!" He shouted, still pointing his finger accusingly at them both. 

"Now Fred, don't overreact." Mole chided. "My friend Varian and I were just playing a friendly little game of Street Combat." 

"Friend? _Friend_?! My bestest buddy and protégé playing video games with my arch nemesis and mortal rival! This just like when Captain Fancy found the Fearless Ferret robbing banks with the Toymaker in Earth's Greatest #20!" 

"Fred…" Varian started to reason with a weary sigh but Fred interrupted him. 

"No. I don't want to hear it!" And with that he turned around on his heel and marched back into the elevator. "But mark my words Varian, Mole can't be trusted." And with this warning he pressed the first floor button and the elevator doors closed. 

Varain rolled his eyes and followed after his friend. "Sorry Mole, I gotta go smooth things over with Fred. I'll see ya later." 

"Okay, oh I almost forgot" the Professor What convention is next month. You want to go?" Mole replied as Varian hurried over to the elevator. 

"Yeah sure, sounds like fun." Varian answered back distractedly. "I'll see ya then." He waved bye to Mole as the door to the elevator closed. 

* * *

When the elevator opened back up Varian saw Fred stomping away down the sidewalk outside and raced after him. 

"Fred! Fred, wait up!" 

"Why? So that you can stab me in the back again?" Fred called after.

"Fred...you're being ridiculous." 

He stopped, incensed, and fumed at Varian, "Ridiculous?! Oh, I'm being ridiculous now am I?" 

"Yeah, you are." Varain stated matter-of-factly. 

"Oh, I see how it is. Crazy Fred is just being paranoid again. It can't possibly be that Mole has been trying to ruin my life since he was in dippers. Seriously, when I first met him he was a week old and I had to be the one to change him. It was all downhill from there." 

Varian crossed his arms and gave Fred a reproachful look. 

"Oh you don't believe hun?" Fred defended, "Well did he tell you about the time he cut the power to my house so he could win the online auction for Captain Fancy 133? Or the time he spilled hot fudge on me at his 7th birthday party? How about the time he stole my prized Captain Fancy pants? Oh, or how he bought out the mech wrestling league just so I couldn't own it? And he doesn't even like wrestling!!" 

Varian didn't answer and kept up his disapproving glare. 

"I tell you Mole is just using you to get to me. Don't you see? It'd be the ultimate revenge if he stole my protégé away--." 

"Ok, first off, I'm not your "protégé" or "apprentice" or whatever, and second off, Mole never mentioned you the entire time we've hung out. Couldn't it just be possible that he wants to be friends with me and that you're making a big deal out of nothing?" 

"Oh really? Then how would you feel if I started hanging out with that princess you hate so much? Rapunzel! Yeah, wouldn't you be hurt if I became pals with your mortal enemy." 

A shadow fell across Varian's face and his mildly annoyed glare transformed into cold steely gaze. 

"Fred." 

"Y-yeah." 

"Rapunzel left me, my father, and my entire village to die. Your 'mortal enemy' just buys the same stuff that you want." 

Fred looked like a man who had just had a glass of ice water splashed in his face. 

"Ooookay...I-I'm beginning to see the difference…" 

Now it was Varian's turn to storm off in a huff leaving Fred to stand there bewildered. 

"Wait! … _She did that_?!" He turned and ran after Varian. "I thought fairy tale princesses were supposed to be nice?" 

"Well, they're not, and my life is _not_ a fairy tale Fred." 

Fred pouted as he tagged long after Varian, unsure of what to say now. 

Varian stopped at the bus stop to wait on his ride home and Fred sheepishly stared at his shoes. After a few awkward minutes he spoke up. 

"H-hey, Varian.." 

"What." 

"I'm sorry….maybe I overreacted a little?" 

"A little?" Varian raised an eyebrow. 

"Alright, a lot. But I just don't understand why you want to even hang out with Mole." 

Varian heaved a heavy sigh and relented. "Look...I just, don't have many friends ok? And before I came here I didn't have _any_ friends. So if someone invites me to hang out with them then I wanna go. Cause that doesn't happen often, and I don't like being alone, and....and Mole doesn't know who I am or about my past. Same as Carol, or Karmi… It's just nice to feel normal for once." 

"Annnd you can't feel normal around me cause I know you're magic, right?" 

"For the last time Fred, I'm not magic." He growled through his teeth and then in a gentler voice said. "Also, and I mean this in the nicest way possible, you're not normal." 

"Fair. Though, if we're talking 'normal' I don't think Mole counts either." 

"Maybe not, but I don't think he has a lot of friends either. I guess in that way we have something in common." 

Fred looked thoughtfully at that. It was true, Mole really didn't have any friends; a combination of homeschooling and being a huge nerd had left the kid pretty isolated. Fred understood that. He'd been there too, but then again he wasn't a huge jerk to people. 

"I still don't get it…. Buuutt if you want to hang out with Mole I'm not going to try and stop you." 

"And you're not going to pitch a fit, or sulk, or argue with me if I do?" 

Fred heaved a sigh. "No. I'll be very mature about it….also very confused…but I'll be cool, promise." 

"So we're still friends?" Varian asked with some slight trepidation. 

"Well of course we're still friends! That was never in question. Friends have fights sometimes, ya know, but they always stick together in the end." 

He gave Varian a playful nudge on the shoulder and Varian smiled back. 

* * *

Big Hero Six walked away from the college campus and headed towards the parking lot where Wasabi had parked his car. The gang of teenagers laughed and conversed until the squeal of tires on pavement sounded off in the distance and the sound of motor revving became louder and louder. 

Soon a fire red sports car came barreling down the drive towards them. They jumped back as the car skidded to a halt next to them, making black marks on the pavement. 

The little group stared in shock at the close call and a window rolled down to reveal the driver. 

"Hey guys!" Varian cheerfully called out, oblivious to the fright he had caused them. 

"Varian, what are you doing!?" Wasabi yelled. 

"Oh, Heathcliff is giving me driving lessons."

The Frederickson's faithful butler tilted his head to give the other teens a better look at him. He was dressed in his usual work attire but save for the pair of sunglasses he wore. He said nothing but his stoic face broke into a sly grin and he gave a thumbs up. He was clearly enjoying being chauffeured around for a change. 

"Yeah, Fred let me borrow his car to practice with." Varian continued and then turned to the man sitting beside him. "You were right Heathcliff, this is cooler than the limo." 

At this Gogo punched Fred in the right arm. 

"Oww, what was that for?" He rubbed his arm ruefully.

"You never let me borrow the race car!" She said deeply offended. 

Hiro also gave Fred's left arm a much lighter smack just to get his attention. "Yeah, and I got a learners permit; same as Varian." 

"Yeah but I'll get my actual license before you so I need the practice more." Varian smugly replied. 

Heathcliff interrupted this friendly spat with his usual soft spoken British accent, "Master Varian, how about we learn how to pass other cars safely on the road next; and see how fast this bad boy can really go." 

"Heck yeah!" Varian laughed. He moved the gear out of 'park', yelled "See ya!", and slammed on the gas. The car took off like a shot; burning rubber as it went. 

"Oh what fresh horror have you unleashed?" Wasabi asked Fred as everyone stared dumbstruck after the boisterous teen and renegade butler.


	34. Wrestlers, Boxers, and Ninjas, Oh My: Part 1

The large indoor arena was crowded. People stood or were seated elbow to elbow. Many held homemade signs, fair food, and gaudy memorabilia that signified their support of the athletes who were to participate in today's sporting event. 

Varian scooted past the spectators apologetically as he made his way to his own seat carrying a bucket of popcorn, trying his best not to spill any. Honey Lemon waved to him and rescued the popcorn bucket from his arms as he slumped into the chair next to her, relieved to not have to try and force his way through the crowd again anytime soon. 

"You made it back just in time!" She chirped as she took a bite of the salty snack. "The match is about to start!" 

"Yeah, first up is the Murderous Marauder vs the Venomous Vanguard!" Fred chimed in reaching over and snagging a handful of popcorn for himself.

"Wait, I never heard of them. Are they new?" Honey Lemon asked. 

"Uh...no... I couldn't get tickets to a mecha-wrestling event and this is just a regular wrestling event, but it's still cool." Fred blurted out. 

Honey Lemon only pouted. 

"Look, it's the same thing. Just instead of mecha suits they use their own bodies to beat each other up. Who needs super awesome robot suits anyways?" 

Honey Lemon raised an eyebrow. "Mole blocked you from the Mecha league didn't he." 

"Yes!!!" Fred half sobbed and half yelled. 

Varian rolled his eyes and then tried to move the conversation back on topic. "So what you're saying is that this is a hand to hand combat tournament." 

"Yeah exactly," Fred confirmed ", along with the occasional chair." 

"The what?" 

Varian didn't get an answer to his question though as just then the lights dimmed and the crowd went quiet. He looked down to the center of the arena. Spotlights flooded the middle of a boxing ring and music began to blare. More lights began to swoop across the stage at the far end, all various colors, shapes, and patterns that changed in time with the music. The crowd began to stomp and clap in time to the music and Varian looked to his friends who were joining in. Honey Lemon flashed him a grin and encouraged him to do so as well.

Varain did but he couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it while he did so. He had never seen a tournament nor brawl with this much fan fair before. Oh watching a good fight was a popular pastime in Corona to be sure, but most were held outdoors; with most of the crowds gathered around standing and jeering, unless you were of nobility. 

Varian himself would usually just climb to the top of a nearby tree to look on, and the only music to be had was maybe a trumpeter to single the start of the event. But then again Corona never had loudspeakers nor a state of the art LED lights display to show off. 

A man smartly dressed in a business suit stepped out from behind a curtain and onto the stage. The crowd started to cheer and clap as he walked down the ramp to the ring in the center. He waved to everyone and the music died down as he spoke into a microphone. 

"Welcome everyone. Are you ready tonight?." He paused as the crowd cheered back in answer. " Good. Cause, let's get ready to rumble!!!" 

Everyone screamed at once. Varian just about jumped out of his skin as Honey Lemon let out a high pitched whoop right next to his ear along with the rest of spectators. The music blared back up again and the crowd went wild. 

"First up tonight we have the guardian of the keep, the venger of wrongs, the noble knight of the ring, it's the Venomous Vanguard!" 

Out from behind the curtain stepped a tall slender man dressed in a silver tunic and tights. He wore a knight's helmet, long boots, and a red robe trimmed with white fur on which the image of a green cobra was printed on the back. He was flanked by two pretty girls wearing matching silver bathing suits and they carried banners that held the same emblem as his robe.

The crowd cheered once more as he entered the ring and the vanguard victoriously held the sword he was carrying aloft in the air. More women rushed out to relieve him of said sword and robe and the Venomous Vanguard removed his helmet to reveal a handsome young man with blonde curls, big brown eyes, and a crooked smile that he flashed at some of the ladies in the stands. More cheers and even some whistling could be heard from the audience. 

The Vanguard then took the mic from the announcer and made some grand speech about justice, and vengeance, and boastful claims about how he'd win tonight's match because of his righteous agenda and blah, blah, blah…

Varian rolled his eyes at the display of vibrato. He leaned close to Honey Lemon and whispered, "Can you believe this guy?" 

"Hmm-mm" She absently hummed but seemed to barely notice Varian's presence. She sat at the edge of her seat, eyes fixed on the stage, utterly enraptured by the proceedings. Then when the Vanguard concluded his speech and raised his sword in the air once more she loudly cheered with the rest of the crowd. 

Varian slumped back disheartened and a little more than jealous of the looks his crush gave the phoney knight. 

"It's not even a real sword." He muttered under his breath. 

He was distracted from his despondence when the music flared up once more and someone else stepped out on stage. 

"Uh-oh! Here comes the Murderous Marauder!" The announcer proclaimed. "And it looks like he's out for blood tonight!" 

There were some more cheers but mostly boos as the challenger made his way to the ring. Varian however studied this newcomer with interest. 

He was dressed entirely in black leather, save for his massive arms which were bare. His long black hair was wild and matched his long unkempt beard. He marched up to the vanguard ignoring the jeers thrown his way and then paused for effect as the room quietened. 

He was shorter than the knight but buffer and looked capable of breaking the other man in two. However, once the noise had died down, he didn't attack but instead gave a scathing taunt. 

"Are you compensating for something with that big sword Sir. Hams-a-lot?"

The crowd oohed and a few booed, but Varian just laughed. He liked this newcomer and decided then and there to cheer on the challenger who promised to put the pompous paladin in his place. 

Honey Lemon however was less appreciative of the Marauder's gumption. As the fight began proper she joined in with the majority of the audience in jeering the challenger. 

"Booooo! Take him down Vanguard!" 

"O-oh yeah! Well…Tie him in knots Marauder!" Varian shot back. 

Honey Lemon paused and looked at him in surprise and he returned the stare blankly wondering momentarily if he had done something wrong. Yet his fears were abated when she tilted her head and tried her best to unsuccessfully suppress a smile as she narrowed her eyes at him challengingly. He arched an eyebrow and his own lips slid into a smirk. Then suddenly a new competition was underway running adjacent to the one going on the ring as Varian and Honey Lemon tried to one up each other in taunts and good natured jabs as each cheered on their favored competitor.

Each flip, kick, punch, and headlock was met with jubilation and derision in equal measure as the teens watched on. Fred even joined in their game, switching sides whenever he felt like it, just happy to be there. 

Varain had to admit though that he didn't fully grasp the rules of the sport. The fight was very different from any wrestling match he'd ever seen. There was far more acrobatics and punches involved then in like a grudge match in say a tavern where the combatants held on to each other tightly as they tried to push the other down and pin them to ground. Yet he didn't question this American style of combat until the Vanguard was pushed out of the ring. 

Varian thought that would be the end of it but neither the referee nor the announcer called the match. Instead there was another flurry of insults and the Vanguard marched back over towards his stuff lying across a folding chair. 

"Show him what that sword is really for, Vanguard!" 

"Yeah! As decoration for his tombstone!" 

But once again Varian was confused when the 'knight' didn't grab the plastic weapon but the chair itself. He then threw it at the Marauder while his back was turned. 

The crowd cheered but Varian could barely form words as his anger overtook him. "That son- He-- Did you see that?! He _cheated_! Where's the referee? Is he blind? I hope you now realize that jerk isn't a good guy.' 

"Dude chill," Fred said, "it's just a prop. It's all part of the show." 

"Show?" 

"All of wrestling is fake." Honey Lemon gently explained. "No one really gets hurt. That's why it's fun." Then as soon as she was done with this explanation she snapped her attention right back to the fight and leaned over the railing to shout "Dig his grave!" as the Vanguard pulled the Marauder around comedically by his long hair. 

It took a moment or two to process this new information and to say Varian was more than a little embarrassed for being so easily taken in by the theatrics would be an understatement. Yet his shame was forgotten as quickly as it had arrived as he watched the pretty redhead bounce up and down, face flushed with excitement, crowing with joy as her favored opponent was deemed the winner. She flashed him the biggest and smuggest grin ever and he melted. What he wouldn't do to see that smile on her face always.

* * *

Three more matches came and went. There was a tag team event with four lovely and scantily clad ladies, a 'spontaneous' fight backstage that spilled out into the actual ring between a team of two brothers who now wanted to go separate ways, and finally a premiere event debuting the newest wrestler to join the league. 

"I want all of you to extend a big hand to El Agua!" The announcer proclaimed as a large muscular man wearing a blue and white luchador's mask walked down the ramp. He thanked the announcer and took the mic from him. 

"Thank you Senor Stouffuer, and thank you WWF, for having me here tonight and giving me a second chance." His thick spanish accent dripped with heavy remorse. "You know, I had a hard time there, a while back I got real low. I couldn't fight. I lost my sense of purpose. But now I'm back and I am ready to kick some las nalgas!"

At this triumphant proclamation the crowd cheered. Varian had to admit he was intrigued. He didn't know this guy's story but he sounded more sincere than many of the other performers. However neither Honey Lemon nor Fred seemed too impressed. In fact they looked like they were in shock. 

Honey Lemon leaned over towards Varian and Fred. "Freddie... you don't think that's…" She didn't finish her sentence but instead pointed down at the ring where at, El Agua stood. 

"No idea," Fred softly answered back, his eyes never leaving the wrestler as he also leaned his head towards Honey Lemon. "It certainly seems like it…" 

Varain ducked his head down to where the two met to try and get in on the conversation. "Hey, why are we whispering?" 

"Oh, nothing" Honey Lemon hastily dismissed, "the new guy just seemed familiar that's all." 

"Yeah, he could have come over from the Mecha league or something." Fred agreed and that was the end of the discussion. 

They finished watching the last match, El Agua defeated his opponent, The Sandman, and they all filed out of the arena with the rest of the crowd. 

"You know, that was inspiring." Fred said as they walked out into the night air. "I know it's not real but I bet we could, like, maybe alter some of those wrestler moves into our crime fighting routine." 

Fred air motioned some fake karate chops to demonstrate. 

Honey Lemon stifled a giggle as she tried to be supportive. "Well, it does take a lot of athleticism and skill to pull off those moves so perhaps." 

Varian snorted, "Yeah and they actually train for it." 

Fred looked offended."Whatta mean!? We train all the time." 

Varian rolled his eyes, "You run around and jump. You haven't the muscle to pull off those stunts where you lift and ground pound people." 

Fred pouted and intensely examined his biceps. Meanwhile Varian caught Honey Lemon glaring disapprovingly at him so he hastily tried to save himself. "And I can say that cause I'm as scrawny as a twig." 

Honey Lemon opened her mouth to retort but Fred stopped her. 

"No, he's right HL, we could stand to work on our strength exercises." 

"Well, I just meant you actually." Varian corrected but Fred didn't seem to hear him.

"Tomorrow morning we start a new training regime!" He declared, "We'll meet at the gym at five o'clock sharp!" 

He marched off leaving Honey Lemon and Varian to exchange confused looks with each other.

* * *

"Why are we here again?" Gogo asked annoyed. 

"And why are we here so early?" Hiro yawned. 

The gang stood right outside of the gym as the sun began to rise, still groggy from sleep and wholly unamused by Fred's latest grand scheme. 

"It has come to my attention that we are slacking in our anaerobic exercises." 

"But I already weight lift.." Wasabi pointed out. 

Fred ignored him. "In order to be the best crime fighters we can be, we need to explore all avenues of self improvement. Leave no stone unturned... " 

"But I'm not a crime fighter." Varian interject. This too was ignored. 

"...No river unforged, no ocean unnavigated.." 

"Alright we get it Fred." Hiro exasperated. 

"Look if you wanna "self improve" yourself go right ahead, but we're going back to bed." Gogo said.

Fred gave her the most pitiful of pleading looks, but she remained stoned faced. 

"A little exercise never hurt anybody." Honey Lemon timidly encouraged trying to smooth over any arguments before they could start. "I mean, after all, we're already here." 

Gogo rolled her eyes but relented anyways. She dragged herself towards the front doors with the rest of the gang reluctantly following after her save for Fred who bounded ahead like an excitable puppy dog. 

"It'll be great, you'll see." He enthused. 

Inside of the gym were rows upon rows of various exercising equipment, a second balcony floor with even more exercising machines, a weight lifting corner full of iron weights of different sizes and shapes, numerous side rooms with large windows that housed other activities separate from the rest of the gym, such as basketball or a yoga class, and at the very front entrance stood a counter where two people were engaged in conversion. 

Hiro at least seemed to know one of these people. 

"Hey Carl!" He called out and the large man with a goatee and a red bandana wrapped around his head waved back. 

In fact everyone seemed to know him but Varian. 

"Hi Felony Carl!" Honey Lemon reiterated Hiro's earlier greeting as they came closer to the desk. 

"Why hello, if it isn't my two lovely neighbors and their esteemed colleges. What do I owe for today's good fortune." The man calmly greeted them with a smile and a gentle, measured tone that belied his gruff exterior. 

"We're here to get whipped into shape!" Fred cheered. 

Gogo rolled her eyes at that but addressed Carl instead of venting her frustrations for a second time. "So how about you, did you get dragged here by Globby to "improve your crime fighting technique." 

Carl chuckled "Oh no, Globs leaves me out of the superheroing gig. Says he doesn't want me getting hurt. Which is fine by me, I'm not one for the limelight. However you might say I'm here for self improvement. Since my beloved partner and I have decided to reform ourselves and enter domesticated life together, I've thought it time to enter into more respectable employment. You're looking at the newest personal trainer for this fine establishment." With this he pointed to the name tag pinned to his vest. 

"That's great man, good for you." Wasabi congratulated. 

"Yay, I'm so happy for you. I know you've been looking for work for awhile now." Honey Lemon added. 

"Way to go, Carl." Gogo gave the man a fist bump. 

"Thank you. Yup, no more shady side jobs from Yama for me. I'm here early to set up for my first boxing class. There's plenty of spots left on the sign up sheet." He held up a clipboard with a list of names. 

"Sorry, Carl but I don't know if that's on Fred's agenda." Hiro apologized. 

"Hmm maybe not today," Fred agreed, "but I'll put boxing down on the list of self defense techniques we'll want to learn. Today however is all about building up muscle." He then struck a pose as he flexed his biceps. 

Wasabi sighed, "Fine, I'll teach you some weight lifting basics. Follow me. Bye, Carl." 

"Yeah see a later Felony Carl!" Fred shouted back as he followed Wasabi. 

"Ok. You kids have fun." Carl said as the gang walked away, "I'm going to go finish setting up." 

As they neared the weight lifting section Honey Lemon exclaimed, "Ooh a racket ball court just opened up. Lets play a game!" She grabbed Gogo by the wrist and pulled the other girl along, who made no effort to resist as she was too tired to care. 

Varian paused as he watched the group split in two and wondered who he should go with. He had felt out of the loop all morning long. He wasn't a superhero like the rest of his friends, quite the opposite in fact, and so had been confused when Fred insisted he'd come along to the training session. In truth Varian wasn't thrilled by the idea of lifting heavy objects for hours on end with no end goal in sight. At least when his dad asked him to do that with the hay bails back on the farm there was an actual purpose to it. 

The racket ball game sounded far more fun but he didn't know if he'd be allowed to join since Honey Lemon had asked Gogo specifically and he didn't even know how it was played nor how many people could play at once. 

Not to mention, back when meeting with the gentleman named Carl, he had been utterly lost as to what everybody was talking about, and no one had bothered to explain nor even introduce him, which made Varian feel even more left out.

So he just stood there feeling every bit the fool as his friends continued to not even notice his absence as they launched straight into their activities. 

Well maybe he could just find something on his own to do until time to leave. Yet as his eyes scanned the rows of unfamiliar equipment and exercising machines he couldn't even figure that part out. 

Then he saw Carl through the window of one of the classrooms. The man was trying to set what looked like a tall sandbag onto a hook on the ceiling. It also looked heavy and Varian watched as he dropped the thing on the floor and had to pick up again, clearly straining with the weight of it. 

"Need help?" Varian asked as he entered the room. 

"Thanks.. but.. this is real.. heavy kid." He huffed as he went to place the bag on the hook again. 

Varian ignored his dismissal and went to hold the lower half of the bag so that the other man could focus better on hooking the thing. 

He looked surprised at Varian's instance but said nothing, only giving a grateful nod as he finished the task at hand. Once done he said, "You know you're stronger than you look, kid. Name's Felony Carl, but my friends just call me Carl." 

They shook hands and Varian introduced himself. 

"Varian hun, you came in with the rest of those college kids didn't ya?" 

"Yeah, we all go to school together, and I've been staying with Hiro and his aunt during the meantime." 

"Ah, I see." Carl walked over to grab another boxing bag and Varian rushed over to help him lift that one as well. "I'm Gogo and Honey Lemon's next door neighbor. That's how we know each other. Well that and my boyfriend, Globby, sometimes works with them. You know, protecting the city and all that jazz." 

"Oh I don't do any of that superhero stuff. That's probably why I've not met him yet." Varian explained. 

They hooked the second bag and Varian hurried over to pick up two more. He slung one over his shoulder and tucked another up under his arm. 

"Where would you like these?" He asked, ever helpful. 

Carl didn't respond at first. He just stood there and stared at the time-displaced teen in shock, and Varian was afraid for a second that he had done something wrong. However the man quickly recovered his quits and answered, "Uh, just...just place them over there, please." 

"Okay." Varian obliged and dumped the two punching bags onto the floor in the opposite corner. He then quickly got to work hanging one of them before Carl could even join him. 

"You...you lift weights or something?" He casually asked as they hung up the second bag. 

"Oh no." Varian replied. "I don't see the appeal honestly." 

"So what are ya into? Track? Football? Pilates?" 

"I...I don't even know what half of those things are." Varian admitted. "There wasn't a whole lot of time for sports back in Corona, not after all the chores were done. Once you plowed a field all day you don't feel much like running around." 

"Ah, so you're a farm boy. I understand. My grandmother used to have a small farm when I was kid; real peaceful up there." 

They finished hanging the last of the punching bags. 

"Well thank you for the help. Now all there is to do is wait to see if anybody shows up for the class." Carl said. 

"You don't have anybody signed up yet?" 

"Eh, one or two, if they decide to come. Its a new class. It takes time to get these things going." 

"Ah" Varian acknowledged, followed by an awkward pause where he didn't know what to say or do next. He thought for a moment he might just excuse himself and just get out of the way of the man and leave him to his class but Carl interrupted this thought. 

"Have ya, ever tried boxing before?" 

"Well..no…. I mean I've been in a fight or two, or twelve, but I'm not very good at actually, you know, punching people." Varian half heartedly mimed of throwing a punch as he stumbled over this explanation. 

"Trouble with bullies hun?" Carl knowingly replied. 

"Uuuh… you might, could say that." 

"Here show me your best punch. I'll tell ya how to improve it." Carl walked over to one of the punching bags and held it steady. 

Varian hesitated for a moment, unsure if he should partake in an impromptu boxing lesson when he was sure the man had more important things to do, like teaching actual paying customers perhaps, but Carl was insistent. 

"Ok, go ahead and hit the bag as hard as you can." 

So Varían did. It was just as unimpressive as he feared. 

"Awe, I know you got more strength in ya than that. Go ahead really slug it. Like if you was cornered by one of those bullies." 

Varian tried to recall the one time he threw an unsuspecting punch at a guard who was chasing him. He had been trying to hide in the crowd but was soon spotted. He felt the man grab him by the shirt collar and yank him back as he tried to get away. So Varian had, on instinct, blindly bopped the man right on the nose. 

It hadn't really hurt the other guy, Varian was sure it surprised him more than anything, since at the time he wasn't deemed the most wanted criminal in the land yet, but nevertheless it had held off his attackers long enough to get away.

It had been terrifying, and Varian threw the memory of that feeling into his second throw. This time he had managed to push Carl, who held tightly to the other side of the punching bag, a step backwards. 

"Hey, now that's more like it. Now for your technique. Your stance is pretty good, just don't plant your feet so firmly to the ground. You gotta be able to move. So on your toes. Yeah like that, and hold your fist more like this." 

Varian did as he was told and threw some more practice hits. Every once in a while Carl would throw out a new instruction or bit of advice that Varian would follow up on. Soon he found a rhythm and the action came more naturally to him as he began to loosen up. 

"Now ya gettin' it kid. Try side stepping to the right." 

Varian did so and threw another punch. 

"Good, now the left. Ok, right. Left. Right. Left. Repeat. Don't focus too much on where you're putting your foot. Keep your eyes up. In a real fight you gotta be aware of your opponent at all times." 

Varian didn't answer back. He was too busy trying to both process all of this new information while also trying to implement it and keep up the steady pace he had going. But he felt himself slowing down anyways as he began to tire. 

"You're doing great," Carl encouraged, "but don't forget to make your punches count. Your hits are weakening some; don't be afraid to put some muscle into it. Don't worry you won't hurt me. I'm standing behind this heavy bag, remember?" 

Finally Varian paused in his exercise and half collapsed against the punching bag. He wasn't sure what Carl meant by "put some muscle into it". He was already hitting the thing as hard as he could. 

"Tired?" Carl asked. 

All Varian could do was nod his head as he was out of breath. 

"Alright take a break and get you a drink. I brought bottled water for the class."

Varian tried to catch his breath and relax the tension in his shoulders as he procured one of the waters. However it appeared Carl wasn't done with the lesson cause no sooner had Varian took a sip the other man was already launching into another lesson on certain techniques and the basic history of his chosen sport. 

Varian did his best to listen as he nursed his bottle of water. However, he was vaguely starting to question to himself what he was even doing here. He was not a fighter. Sure he'd been in a few scrapes before.. Ok more like several life or death conflicts…but he was always hopelessly outmatched physically and usually relied on his other strengths, his quick wits and inventions, to carry him through. So far they had been more than enough...so far... or maybe he'd just been lucky. It couldn't hurt to learn a little self defense. 

After a while Carl ramped down his lecture and asked Varian if he was ready to try again. Varian nodded yes. 

"Okay, now imagine this punching bag here is the biggest meanest bully you've ever faced. Now what do you do?" 

"Run?" 

"Well usually yes, but what if you can't safely get away?" 

"Fight or distract until you can get away." 

"Correct, and the first thing you do when preparing to fight is to defend yourself. So here are some blocking stances in case the guy comes at you." 

Carl walked him through some basic poses; arms up, on your toes, keep your face shielded etc. Confident that Varian was getting the hang of these, he motioned Varian to come closer to the punching bag. 

"Now remember, the biggest meanest ugliest bully you can think of." 

Varian looked up at the hanging sandbag and immediately his mind's eye flashed back to his arrest, with King Frederic looming over him as the guards men slapped cuffs onto his wrists. The imposing figure towered over him, all noble and proud, full of smug self righteousness and nothing but contempt for Varian's continued existence. 

"The boy needs help. Take him away and see that he is fed and kept somewhere safe." The monarch lied. 

"Food" was nothing but stale bread and water, sometimes gruel if you were lucky, for months on end. "Safe" was a dark dank dungeon cell where you were ignored no matter how freezing cold the nights got. And "help"? Well "help" was merely not killing you but letting you know at every opportunity that they could take your life away if you didn't express enough gratitude for their so-called "mercy."

Oh what Varian wouldn't give to punch the dictator right in the mouth and put a crack in the man's charitable facade. 

And so he did. At least in his imagination. The punching bag swung wide with the force of Varian's connecting hit and Carl quickly stepped back in surprise. Not that Varian noticed. 

He was no longer in the gym or even San Fansokyo but back in his lab next to his fathers corpse facing down the royals he thought responsible for all his misery and woe. It was like a floodgate had been open and all his pent up rage, all his sadness and hopelessness from the past two years, came pouring out of him in gushing torrents and into his fists as he feverishly pounded away at the boxing bag. 

It was only when the punching bag flew off its hook from shear force that Varian snapped back to reality. 

He stood there shocked at the broken equipment for a moment until he became keenly aware of Carl's eyes studying him closely. Embarrassed, Varian turned to leave, probably to run home or back to the school, but Carl stopped him. 

"Hey…hey …it's ok." The man soothed. "It's just an accident. All we gotta do is hang it up again." 

Varian didn't answer as his eyes darted about looking desperately for something to focus on other than the instructor's pitying face. 

"Wanna talk about what happened there?" 

"No." 

"Alright, you wanna tell me about this bully that's been bothering you? Do you need help?" 

"No." 

"Do you wanna learn some more self defense, or maybe even just come by and vent your frustrations on this here sack of cloth filled with sand? No judging; no prying questions; I'm just here to do my job."

Again Varian didn't answer but he did finally manage to relax enough to look the other man in the eye. 

"How old are, kid?" 

"Sixteen." 

Carl nodded knowingly as if this explained everything. He then turned around and walked over to where he kept his supplies and pulled out a sheet of paper from his clipboard. 

"This is a permission slip. You get your guardian or whoever is looking out for you to sign this and then you can come to my class regularly. I hold three boxing lessons throughout the week, you can come to as many or as little as you want, whatever works for you and you can stop whenever. Though I usually recommend coming to at least six courses if you really want to learn something." 

Varian mulled over the paper Carl handed to him. 

"Can... can I come again later this week?" 

"Sure thing, so long as you get that form signed." 

"Alright I'll get my aunt to sign it." 

Just then a couple of people walked in. "Hey is this the boxing class?" One asked and Varian took this as an opportunity to excuse himself and reunite with his friends.

* * *

"Who's ready for my patented mumbo jumbo gumbo!?" Aunt Cass called out carrying three steaming hot bowls of soup to the table. 

"I don't know what that is but it smells delicious." Varian complimented as she placed the stew before him. 

She sat a second bowl in front of Hiro who let out a pitiful groan as he reached for his spoon. 

"What's wrong with you?" She asked. 

"We went to the gym today." Hiro moaned after taking a bite of the gumbo.

"Oh so you got a workout today, hun?" Aunt Cass asked in her chipper manner. 

Hiro closed his eyes and slowly leaned his head back in an exaggerated fashion. "Everything hurts and I want to die." 

"It is normal to experience soreness when exercising muscles that you rarely use." Baymax piped in helpfully. "It is recommended to stretch before every exercise routine and participate in a cool down session afterwards. To alleviate aches and pains several remedies such as ice, heat, rest, anti-inflammatory medication, and massages can be beneficial. If pain persists past 72 hours seek a physician." 

"Oh I'm sure it's not that bad." Aunt Cass encouraged. 

"Yeah, he's just a ninny." Varian teased. 

Hiro however was only confused by the old fashioned insult. "What's a 'ninny'? Also I didn't see you out there lifting weights. Where did you run off to?" 

"I was helping Carl set up for his class." Varian explained. "Oh which reminds me, Aunt Cass, can you sign a permission slip for me? I wanna take boxing lessons." 

"Hold up, wait. Who's Carl and you wanna what now?" Aunt Cass responded. 

"Carl is Honey Lemon and Gogo's neighbor. He works at the gym." Hiro helpfully explained. 

"He also teaches a boxing class there and I wanted to join." Varian added. 

"I don't know if I want you fighting." Aunt Cass said reluctantly. 

"Well, you're not really fighting anybody." Varian persuaded. "He just teaches basic fighting techniques. You know, for self defense. Plus it's exercise, it gets me out of the house, and Dr. Brown did say I needed a 'healthy way' to deal with my anger issues." 

"By learning to hit people?" Aunt Cass was not convinced.

"I think they use punching bags." Hiro interjected. 

His input was not appreciated as evidenced by Aunt Cass's pout. Varian however had one more trick up his sleeve. He silently pleaded with Aunt Cass with his big puppy dog eyes and she caved.

"Fine, I suppose knowing some self defense can be useful. But you're not going into a ring to duke it out with anybody, understood?" 

Varian eagerly complied to this agreement, took another bite of the gumbo, and then made sure to flatter Aunt Cass cooking once more as a way of thank you.

* * *

Friday rolled around again and Varian arrived at the gym bright and early. Thus far he had attended all of Carl's morning classes, swinging by for the lesson before heading on to school. This would be his third class and Varian had to admit he was really getting into it. 

Boxing turned out to be a great way to process his feelings and frustrations without having to talk about them. He could just get lost in the motion while allowing his mind to focus on the things he usually kept bottled up or buried under mounds of work. He could vent about everything from past trauma, to an annoying equation he was having trouble figuring out, to typical teenage anxieties about fitting in and the like all without having to say a word. 

Though it wasn't as if he didn't ever talk. Carl turned out to be a very good listener whenever Varian did feel like opening up about something. He still remained guarded about his past, but it was nice to have a confidant when concerning more immediate matters. Things he couldn't necessarily talk to Aunt Cass or Granville about comfortably; things like dating, or shaving, or just what it was like being an awkward teenage guy going through life. 

Carl always had an answer or an anecdote about his own experiences growing up that never failed to put Varian at ease. Even when he didn't have a straight answer for something he still gave sage advice that at least sounded wise and sensible; pointing to the heart of matters that other adults would skirt around. 

Most importantly Carl never pried or pressed a matter. If Varian clammed up suddenly in the middle of a conversation or blurted out a long kept secret while rambling about something, like say his crush on Honey Lemon, Carl would only give his customary nod as if he understood and then just deftly change the subject. 

In short Varian always felt like he was the one in control when boxing. In control of the conversation, in control of his mind and body, and in control of his life for once. After spending two years spiraling out of control it felt nice to be back in the driver's seat, even if it was only for an hour. 

As Varian neared the classroom he could see Carl speaking with two gentlemen behind the glass. Well more like arguing. The two large men dressed in business suits and wearing sunglasses circled around Carl like vultures, clearly invading his personal space while looming over him. Varian couldn't make out what they were saying but it was clear from their body language that whatever it was meant to be taken as a threat. 

Carl however wasn't rising to the bait. He stood his ground and didn't respond to their advances. There was a scowl on his face marking his displeasure but other than that he remained as cool and composed as ever. 

Then one of the men grabbed him by his shirt collar. Carl calmly but firmly grabbed the man's wrist and forced him to let go. He retorted something back in an even measure and then the two men stepped away. 

Soon they emerged from the classroom and made their way to the exit. One spared Varian a glance as he passed by and even though he couldn't see the man's eyes from behind the sunglasses Varian still felt his blood run cold. Whoever these men were they were dangerous. That much was clear. 

"What was that about?" Varian asked after the men had left. 

"Oh nothing." Carl lightly dismissed. "Just some old colleagues of mine. They came by asking me about a job but I turned them down. Told them I just started this one and wasn't looking for work." 

It wasn't a lie per say, but Varian could tell it wasn't the full truth either. Which only caused more concern as Carl was usually so up front about everything. But the man respected Varian's own privacy and he could do no less for him in return. It wasn't his business who Carl conversed with or why. Still the event troubled Varian. 

Carl must have sensed Varian's discomfort so he broke into a smile and changed the subject. "Why don't ya help me set up? Today we're going to practice blocking and how to fall safely when knocked down. I got a lot of yoga mats that I snagged from the back room that needs to be spread out on the floor." 

And with that the matter was dropped.

* * *

"Hey, boss." The man in the suit stood right outside the gym as he spoke into his cell phone. "We found him." 

He paused as he listened to the other person on the line.

"Yeah we know what to do." He said and then ended the call. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I finally got this out. It's a three parter so all theses various plot points are going to come together at the end so bare with me. 
> 
> Also I now have a discord for the story if anybody wants to join in. https://discord.gg/uwq9RBxN


End file.
